It would be a fitting bit of irony if United could kick-start a revival mission by setting out a statement of intent against the very same team that started their downhill descent this season. The 1-0 defeat away to Burnley was our first exposure to the brittleness and impotence in attack that has now become a hallmark of the current United side. Now is the chance to set things moving in the right direction.
Burnley are going through a tough patch of form and fortune themselves. They are winless in ten games and have just let go of Owen Coyle who did a fantastic job in getting them to the upper echelons of English football. They have brought in Brian Laws, the former Sheffield Wednesday manager, to replace Coyle (Useless fact of the day: Laws happens to be the best pound for point manager in the Championship for the period 2006-2009). Laws will be looking to get a good performance out of his players to set the ball rolling for a successful tenure at the club. However the period of transition should suit United and we should be looking to get a handsome win in order to smooth out our sagging confidence.
As for team news, Edwin Van Der Sar has finally overcome fitness and family issues and is in a position to play. Given the air of calm he brings to our defence, it would seem logical to assume that VDS will be starting ahead of Kuszczak inspite of the Pole’s impressive performances of late. Since both Rio and Vidic are some way off in terms of complete fitness, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans should resume their center-back roles. Evra as always will be bombing down the left aided by the effervescent Rafael on the right. The midfield will miss the terrier-like ability of Darren Fletcher who is suspended due to the ridiculous red-card handed out to him by that muppet Mark Clattenburg. Michael Carrick and Anderson will play through the centre in all probability. Antonio Valencia will resume his monopoly on United’s right wing with the evergreen Ryan Giggs taking the left wing mantle on to himself. Wayne Rooney’s name is almost certainly the first name on the team sheet every week, so don’t be surprised if you see him lining up to head our attack again. Predicting the name of his partner is extremely tricky though. Dimitar Berbatov, who has the doubters in full force calling for his head, was set to go for an exploratory knee surgery but has now decided to defer it to the end of the season. So, in all likelihood, Berba will partner Rooney in attack. Michael Owen could also get a look-in which means that new-boy Mame Biram Diouf will have to content himself with a substitute appearance at best.
United spent the last week training in the warmer climes of Qatar and hopefully kept themselves away from the depressing talk of United’s debt situation. The training camp would have provided them with a good opportunity to get behind each other and sort out the tactical deficiencies that have been plaguing our team for long. Let’s just hope that this game against Burnley proves to be just the right tonic needed to put our title bid back on track.
Prediction: 2-0 to United
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