The Barclays Premier League makes a return after a week of international football and World Cup qualifiers, and there could not be a better match to look out for than the match between Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Both these teams badly needed the break after a string of disastrous results; Manchester United losing two matches back to back, and having three players sent off in the process. Villa meanwhile have not won in the league for the last five games, drawing one and losing the other four, conceding 12 goal with only three in return. This game is, of course as always, a must win match, but for these two teams, it’s not only the points that matters.
About a month plus ago, United surged to the top of the table despite having two games in hand. Their unbeaten run of 13 games stretched all the way back to mid-November, starting with that 5-0 trashing of Stoke. Along the process they kept an astonishing eleven consecutive clean sheets, breaking the longest record ever for such a thing. They also scored 23 goals, though at least almost half of it contained narrow margins victories, and they were totally on course for the title.
However, their last two games saw them concede six goals, scoring one which was a penalty, and not scoring a goal from open play since the goalless draw against Spurs. They also lost star players Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes, and Wayne Rooney to the red cards given to them in the last two matches.
Ahead of this match, Sir Alex Ferguson’s first task is to bring back the discipline to the United squad. So much for a team that has been doing so well, and many times being known as “the best squad Ferguson has ever had in over 20 years”, they have totally lost it in the last two games; Cristiano Ronaldo not knowing when or when not to argue with the referee, and Rooney forgetting the rules for a while that he should never, ever, throw the ball to the referee, or not even throw it at all for that matter.
The defense was also in shambles. Two of the goals that were conceded against Liverpool were due to the lack of concentration by two of United’s best defenders, Vidic and fellow partner Rio Ferdinand, and with the latter out with a calf injury, and the former suspended, Ferguson will have a lot of tinkering to do, which would most likely see youngster Rafael da Silva or a half fit Gary Neville playing at right back as John O’Shea moves into the centre-back position with Johnny Evans.
Ferguson will also sorely miss his attacking options up front. Rooney was in such inspirational form during the match against Slovakia and the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, and that’s what Ferguson would be missing on Sunday. With the fiery England striker suspended, Ferguson will have to rely on his other 3 options: Ronaldo, Argentinian international Carlos Tevez, and Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov. The experience of Scholes will also be missed, but Ferguson has a lot of option in midfield, so that’s not a worry.
Villa meanwhile, is also in about the same trouble as Manchester United. Lack of concentration is also letting them down, which was particularly evident in the games against Stoke and Liverpool. In the game against Stoke, they let go an opportunity to win the game while 2-0 up, and let the Potters crawl their way back into a draw. As for the game against Liverpool, Reo-Coker was the particular victim, as at least two of the goals conceded were due to his bad defending and giving of to much space to Liverpool wide man Albert Riera, which resulted in fouling the Spaniard and leading to the two goals.
The injury to Emile Heskey during international friendly against Slovakia will certainly not help Villa gaffer Martin O’Neill’s cause. The dynamic duo of Ashley Young and Gabriel Ablonglahor’s failure to deliver, the latter in particular being criticised for being off form of late, means O’Neill has only one threat to post at United, which is Norwegian big man John Carew, who scored two of Villa’s three goals in that five games.
There’s also another unwanted distraction for Villa. Gareth Barry, who was in the transfer saga over the move to the red half of Merseyside, is once again in that same saga. Despite saying that he will be focus in the remaining eight games for Villa, questions will be asked about whether he will commit and play his best for his hometown club.
Whatever it may be, pride and position is at stake for both clubs. The fact that Villa played against Liverpool outside the top four for the first time shows how much their results are letting other teams catch up on them, while United’s lead at the top will continue to be cut if they keep on playing like they did. Although it’s Old Trafford, Villa are no pushovers as they won ten of their away games before that defeat to Liverpool, more than any other team in the league. United will also The final outcome of this match, whatever it may be, will very much have an influence on the rest of the league, either the race for the league, or race for fourth place, so just sit back, relax and enjoy the match.
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