Weekend Preview: 8th December 2007

Manchester United vs Derby

"Paul Jewell is a good manager, but not a miracle worker..." - Sheena


Apologies for the late review, but hey, better late than never right? And thankfully the match hasn't kicked off yet...

Anyway, tonight's match looks to be a straightforward one as Manchester United, second in the table and only 1 point adrift of leaders Arsenal, take on lowly table-proppers Derby.

A look at recent form says it all: Man Utd have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 matches, whereas Derby have lost all 5. And to make matters worse, Derby have shipped 12 goals and scored none at all in those 5 matches, whereas Man Utd have kept 3 clean sheets and scored 14 goals.

Against such odds, I'm afraid I see only defeat for poor Derby, though the beauty of football is that, of course, anything is possible. Derby have just appointed Paul Jewell as their new manager, and we all remember what a great job Jewell did with Wigan previously. However, ominously, Jewell has never won in 4 Premier League meetings with Man Utd, which is another bit of history that does not bode well for Derby.

Jewell is rightly held as a very good manager who achieved good things with Wigan previously, and given some time he might even achieve similar things with Derby, but he can't work miracles overnight.

Definitely not against the likes of Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson anyway.

Injury-wise, there is some worrying news from the United camp as news filter out that our captain Gary Neville has suffered yet another setback in his recovery from a broken ankle. Neville seems to be running into a streak of real bad luck as his recovery is derailed by one thing after another - here's hoping after this latest one, all goes well for our captain.



Man to watch (Manchester United): Cristiano Ronaldo - the chap is on pure fire at the moment. Ronaldo for FIFA World Player of the Year!

Man to watch (Derby): Kenny Miller. He has already scored 9 in the Premier League so far despite Derby's lack of firepower.

Jaywalk's Encyclopaedia of Bookies' Odds says: Believe it or not, I forgot to ask Jay for the odds. But it doesn't matter anyway - take a Man Utd win.


Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.