Manchester City vs Manchester United - Pre Match Preview

Manchester United travel across the city to take on their noisy neighbours Manchester City in the first Manchester derby of the 2010/11 season. 

Manchester United are unbeaten in all competitions this season, having 6 wins and 5 draws from their first 11 games in the league, along with 3 out of 4 wins in the Champions League and progression through to the 5th round of the League Cup.

Manchester City on the other hand have suffered defeat this season on 3 occasions in the league alone, along with 6 wins and 2 draws. In the Europa League they also have 4 wins out of 6, along with a draw and a shock defeat to Lech Poznan. They were also beaten in the 3rd round of the League cup after suffering defeat to West Bromwich Albion.

Manchester United sit 2nd in the league, 2 points behind Chelsea, while City sit 4th - 3 points behind United.

Line Ups

Manchester United look set to line up with a 4-3-3 formation after a number of illnesses to the side, along with injuries. Nani is set to recover from the groin injury that kept him out at the weekend vs Wolves, as Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick also look set to return after a bout of the flu. My predicted line up is as follows;

Manchester City look set to continue with the same side that managed to bounce back from 3 straight defeats with a victory over West Brom at the weekend. However, with goalscorer Mario Balotelli being sent off in that game, James Milner is expected to come into the game as his replacement. My predicted line up is as follows;

DMF's Prediction

Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United

(Tevez)                    |         (Nani, Berbatov)

Manchester United vs Wolves - Post Match Review

Just to start off, I wasn't able to do a pre-match preview for this game as I was very busy but I know all about the game, and here is the review.

A lacklustre game of football produced one of the greatest endings of the season as Manchester United produced a winner deep into stoppage time. After a very dull first half in which neither side managed to produce anything special up until the 45th minute where some excellent play left Darren Fletcher to use his vision and slip in a marvellous pass into Park Ji-Sung who kept his composure to slot home past Marcus Hahnemann. The second half began just as dull, until substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake turned and powered home a strike into the net past Van Der Sar to pull Wolves level. Manchester United began to press on strongly and they got their rewards in the 92nd minute when Park Ji-Sung came in off the flank, beat 4 defenders and smashed home low into the corner to pick up a valuable 3 points for United and give them a sixth straight win.

Line Ups

A shock start for Owen Hargreaves, and shock omission of Dimitar Berbatov where the main highlights of the Manchester United starting eleven this afternoon. The England international was making his first start in 2 years, having played just 1 minute of first team football in the past two years. Dimitar Berbatov was left out of the whole squad, with no reason given at first however it was revealed later on that the Bulgarian hitman missed out due to a virus. So it left Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez to go it alone up front against a Wolves side keen on revenge for them being knocked out of the league cup thanks to the Mexican's injury time strike last week. It looked as though Gabriel Obertan would start just behind Hernandez, with Hargeaves wide right, Park wide left and O'Shea and Fletcher in the middle. However, when the former Bayern Munich star went down injured just 6 minutes into his comeback and was forced off with a hamstring injury Ferguson was forced to reshuffle. He brought on Bebe, who went wide right, Obertan went wide left with Park playing just off Chicharito. It worked well in the end as we got the result, however it was a poor performance in all.

Owen Hargreaves was making hist first start in 2 years, but was forced off after just 6 minutes with a hamstring injury.

Right Subs at the Right Time..

Alex Ferguson was forced into an early substitution in this game, however his other two substitutions were perfectly timed. After just 6 minutes, Owen Hargreaves was forced off with a hamstring injury, and Portuguese winger Bebe came onto the field of play. Before the next substitutions took place, United took the lead and were hauled back level by Wolves. At this point (75 minutes) the wise old Scot decided to bring on the 'Ginger Wizard' Paul Scholes for John O'Shea, and young Italian Ferderico Macheda for substitute Bebe. That's right, Fergie subbed the sub. However it worked well as Scholes' range of passing and vision, along with Macheda's work rate and aerial ability provided a brand new range of problems for the Wolves defense, who held on until the final minute when Park produced a moment of magic to get the 3 points.

Stuff of Champions..?

Pundits and critics always say, 'If you can't win when you play badly, then you won't be champions'. This afternoon we did exactly that. The performance was below par, and we struggled to keep passes together all the way throughout. The defence was strong for most of the game, but the attack struggled to penetrate the Wolves defence and the only real player who stood out for Manchester United turned out to be the match winner. A fantastic performance from the South Korea captain in the end has given United a valuable 3 points, and with the Manchester derby coming up in 3 days we go in on the back off 6 straight wins and are in good form. We probably deserved the win, marginally. But only because we created more chances than them and with the quality we have, we should've been able to win this game earlier than we did. In conclusion, a very good win for Manchester United, and it could even turn out to be a win we look back on at the end of the season as 19 time league winners.

Bursaspor vs Manchester United - Post Match Review

A fantastic performance from Manchester United saw them cruise to a 3-0 win over Bursaspor in Turkey, but it wasn't easy all the way through. United started the game with a weakened line up, whereas Bursaspor started as expected against the English giants.

United's side was far from it's strongest, but was more than strong enough to deal with the threat the Turkish Champions had to offer. Chris Smalling had a fine game filling in for England captain Rio Ferdinand and is starting to turn in the sorts of performances that made Sir Alex Ferguson spend £10M on him last January and is showing he is more than a capable long term replacement for United's #5. Another player who had a very good game was Darren Fletcher. His endless energy and work ethic shone through the United midfield and he got himself on the scoresheet with a fine low drive just after half time. Park Ji-Sung came on early on in the first half for the injured Nani, who will now likely miss the game vs Wolves at the weekend, and turned the game for United. He began drifting in field with and without the ball which dragged the full back central, leaving Evra and Rafael the entire flank to run down and get crosses in. Young Portuguese attacker Bebe came on for Darren Fletcher in the second half and showed glimpses of skill and raw talent. Gabriel Obertan had a hot and cold game, with some sloppy passes, but some fantastic runs past defenders. He opened his Manchester United account with a screamer from the edge of the box with his right foot, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. Bebe scored United's third after a great reverse pass from Paul Scholes, before he toe poked home into the corner past the on rushing goalkeeper.

Bebe scored a good goal on his Champions League debut

Key Players - Performance

Sercan Yildirim - Striker

The young Turkish striker caused the away side some problems throughout, but nothing the defence couldn't handle. His pace, movement and skill were very sharp and had his finishing been up to scratch he could have possibly put United to the sword. His direct running reminded me a bit of Karim Benzema when he came up against United for Lyon a few years ago. He slipped in Turgay Bahadir, who should have scored but for a good save from Van Der Sar. You could see why he is ripping the Turkish league to shreds, however he seems to struggle in Europe but a few more games and some more experience and he could be lethal.

Paul Scholes - Midfielder

The former England midfielder has evolved his game from a box to box goal phenom, to a deep lying game controller and it works so well for Manchester United. His wide range of passing, vision and occasional eye for goal are all reasons why he will be a legend at Old Trafford when he does hang up his boots, but even at the age of 36 he is so important to the way we play. His pass set up Bebe's goal, a clever shot fake before a sly reverse pass slipped in the Portuguese winger. Yet another world class performance from Scholesy, who is in top form.

Conclusion

A fine performance from United in the end, and just as I predicted a strong 3-0 victory for the 3 time European Champions. A well deserved victory, and I believe that we should now go on to qualify and win the group. A draw at Ibrox would be enough to see us qualify, although I'd like to see us better the 0-0 draw at the start of the campaign and get the win to go into the final game against Valencia as favourites to win the group.

Bursaspor vs Manchester United - Pre Match Preview

Match day 4 of the UEFA Champions League is upon us tonight, and while most neutrals will have their eyes on White Hart Lane, they may be missing out on a tactical masterclass from God himself, Sir Alex Ferguson, as Manchester United take on Bursaspor in Turkey.

With the inevitable hostile environment awaiting them inside the Ataturk Stadium, Ferguson will no doubt want to see his side get an early goal to quieten down the Turkish fans, but that will prove to be much easier said than done. Last season they won the Turkish Championship by accumulating 75 points over 34 games, winning 23 of them and losing just 5. They managed to score 65 goals in those 34 games (1.9 goals p/g) and conceded just 26 goals (0.7 goals p/g).

Formations

Bursaspor

Bursaspor's regular formation is a 4-2-3-1 which transforms into a 4-5-1 when defending. Sercan Yildirim is their danger man, and usually plays as the lone striker and is supported by playmaker Federico Insua (otherwise known as Pocho). This combination has worked fairly well this season, as despite Insua having no goals, he has 3 assists - all to Yildirim who has scored 7 goals this season. The defence isn't the strongest, but it gets the job done and along with the two holding midfielders, they become a very tough side to break down.

Manchester United

Manchester United are known to use the classic 4-4-2 formation, although in recent times they have begun to use the 4-3-3 which transforms into a 4-5-1. Of course, with no Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs or Antonio Valencia this evening, it's unlikely that we'll see a 4-4-2 formation. I can see Ferguson starting with young Mexican starlet Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez starting up front alone, with the in-form Nani and either Park Ji-Sung or Gabriel Obertan on either wing to support him. Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes are expected to start in the center of midfield. No Rio Ferdinand tonight also means that Chris Smalling will get another chance to show his potential in Europe's greatest competition.

DMF's Prediction

I think that Manchester United should come away comfortable winners in this game, considering the quality of our squad compared to the Turkish side. However, I wouldn't expect a romp. They are a well drilled side and will be very tough to break down. In conclusion, I predict;

Bursaspor 0-3 Manchester United

(Hernandez, Nani, Berbatov)

Hernandez's pace could prove vital tonight