footballtalkies.com we talk football
Manchester United will be taking on Blackburn rovers this Monday. The play kicks off at 20.00 GMT, that is 12.30am IST Monday night. The last time the 2 sides met in December, Blackburn came out victorious courtesy of a Grant Hanley goal deep into the 2nd half. It has never been easy going up against a stubborn Blackburn team for united, and it won’t be easy this time around considering that they are playing in their own backyard (Ewood Park).
On this very day 5 years ago United beat Rovers 4-1, to a packed stadium of over 76,000 fans at Old Trafford. 8 of the players who had featured in that game are still in the United squad. However, only 4 of those are likely to again feature against the Rovers, since the other 4 are in the injury list.
The last time Phil Jones wore a Balckburn shirt, the game ended in a draw. But the single point was enough for the Red Devils to clinch a victory. After the transfer, Phil Jones was again in the thick of the action, but this time he was playing against his former team. However this time around he ended up with the losing team. He would be more than eager to go all out against his former team and help United claim those vital 3 points to keep them in the hunt for the 20th Title.
Manchester City will be playing Sunderland today, and would try to collect the 3 points which would see them take the top spot due to a superior goal difference. City has their own worries as they have not been able to score as freely as they had done in the beginning of the campaign. As if the drying up of goals was not enough, Aguero would not be in the starting XI after injuring his ankle during training. Mancini says Tevez is not yet fit to start for the team. This leaves city with Dzeko, who has scored just 5 times in the last 25 games, and Balotelli who is unpredictable. He can very well score a hat trick, but on the other hand could also end up with a red card.
Whatever maybe the situation currently, Manchester United would be looking to collect those 3 valuable points to reamain at the top of the league this Monday night. With just 8 games remaining in the league United will be keen to grab the maximum points in each game, considering that anything less than the maximum might cause them the 20th league title.
United have been in a superb form, winning nine games and drawing once in their last 10 games. Blackburn who currently are sitting in sixteenth have 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat in March.
Rio Ferdinand seems to be ok, and might feature in the game. Nani will miss the game, despite expecting a return to training on Friday. Rovers will not have defenders Gael and Michel, and midfielder Vince.
The countdown begins.
