UEFA Champions League : Manchester United vs Barcelona

Since the last match, there have been a few changes. Manchester United have continued their abysmal run with a loss as Stamford Bridge. Similarly, a poor performance at Deportivo saw Barcelona squander 3 points of their own. These two sides are very much wounded giants.
Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney are both doubts for United- though Sir Alex Ferguson believes they will both play. Also, Mikael Silvestre will lose his place to the returning Patrice Evra.
Carles Puyol will make a timely return from suspension for Barca, whilst the ever-intriguing Ronaldinho misses out with an apparent injury. Edmilson will be shoved into the 18 man squad in place of dos Santos.
Both Barca and United rested players over the weekend, with United keeping the likes of Ronaldo and Tevez in bubble-wrap.
This match will no doubt see chances and attacks, as Manchester United must win and Barcelona must score. Ferguson cannot be ignorant enough to go 4-5-1 again, and must show attacking intent with a 4-4-2 spearheaded by Tevez and Rooney.
Barcelona will be confident that a repeat performance of Wednesday will see them through.

Both managers will have the same mindset - outscore the other team. For this reason, I can't help think the advantage is firmly with the Spaniards, and their array of goal-scoring talent. Thierry Henry is just one of the players who knows a thing or two about scoring at Old Trafford.

If United are to stand a chance, Rooney must take his chances and Ronaldo must be on fire. The Portugese winger was apparently dismissive about claims that he had costed United the tie with his Nou Camp penalty miss, and his team-mate Patrice Evra was quoted as saying Ronaldo would get "one or two" in the 2nd leg.

Prediction

Man Utd 1 : 2 Barcelona

Big Weekend At The Top

It was all set to be a gung-ho Goliath vs Goliath occasion when news reached us that Sir Alex Ferguson had started the match with Cristiano Ronaldo (top goalscorer/player of the season) on the bench. Nemanja Vidic however did start - though he hardly played, subbed through injury after Didier Drigba kneed his mouth resulting in a tooth piercing the Serb's upper lip. Chelsea kept a tight hold of the game, and desrvedly took the lead in the first of the added minuites in the first half. The goal came as a surprise to nobody except the Manchester United defence, who failed to acknowledge Michael Ballack's aerial threat, allowing the German to cleverly head across the helpless Edwin van der Sar.

In the second half, an unchanged Manchester United cam out with more intent but less success in breaing down Chelsea. That was until a rushed defensive set piece caused Ricardo Carvalho to trick all his fellow defenders, and cleverly feed Wayne Rooney in one-on-one with Petr Cech. Rooney slotted home but was clearly in distress, and was soon subbed due to a suspected recurring hip injury. His replacement, Cristiano Ronaldo, could do little but watch as a shambolic Manchester United failed to string passes togeter. And Sir Alex's strange decision to play the final half hour of the came cam back to bite him in the behind when an 87th minuite Ballack penalty gave Chelsea the points they deserved. The penalty came as Michael Carrick left a hand out when attempting to deal with a harmless cross. The linesman was spot-on to give the spot-kick.

United fans will look back in anger at a result that could have been. Alex Ferguson's team selection will rightfully be criticised, and the fact that Manchester United ended the game with seven midfielders on the pitch is good support for those criticisms.

The Title race has once again been blown wide open, and you can read our review of where United are going lower down on this page.

Who will win the Premier League.....

In Case You Missed The Game, Check This Out....

**Poll Update**

Our most recent poll asked the queston :

"Aside from Derby, which sides will be relegated from the Premier League this season?"

Here are the results;

1(J)- Fulham
1(J)- Birmingham
3- Reading
4- Bolton
5(J)- Sunderland
5(J)- Middelsborough
5(J)- Wigan

Despite Fulham's recent miracle, you're still backing them to go down. I think Birmingham are pretty much history now....

NEW POLL.....

The New Poll asks....

"Who Is Your Player of the Season?"

Only One Vote allowed this time, get voting and discuss here....

Manchester United's Season....

I have been very disappointed by Man Utd's recent performances. Starting with 'Boro, they showed little heart until the hour mark, by which time it was too late to salvage anything more than a point from the game. Similarly at Blackburn, by the time Tevez took his chance in the 92nd minute, the points were all but squandered. The poor run went on recently at Barcelona where, though United should have had another penalty, it was clear that Sir Alex had sent his side out to cancel out Barcelona and play for the draw. Despite all this, all was still OK for United, and they were one win away from being Champions of England once again. All the pre-match talk suggested both Ferguson and Grant were going to fight tooth and nail for the crucial points. As kick-off rolled around, the team sheet revealed the inclusion of defensive Darren Fletcher, and the exclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo. It quickly became apparent that once again, Ferguson had lost his nerve, and Chelsea got the points they deserved when the match was over.

Now Manchester United have to face Barcelona, and have to win to progress to the Champions League final. A failure there would leave Manchester United's season in tatters. Manchester United will then welcome West Ham, who have proved to be a stumbling block for United in recent years, to Old Trafford. That is followed by a tricky away day at Wigan - who already showed Chelsea that their iron-will means they will be no push-overs.

There's no doubt that Manchester United are still hot favourites both competitions that they are still in, but influential mean Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic are both far from full fitness, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo's ocean of goals is starting to dry up.
Alex Ferguson must now look to youthful players such as Nani and Anderson, in addition to the been-there-done-that players such as Giggs and Scholes to re-vitalise United's season, as opposed to sub-standard players like Silvestre and Fletcher.

Do you think Manchester United have what it takes to show the stuff of champions and keep their ship on course? Discuss...