Weekend Outlook (01 Mar 2008)

Fulham vs Manchester United

"...Barring new injuries, Fergie will have the luxury of a full squad to pick from when we cross into the crucial months of April and May. All this is attributed the hard work quietly and diligently put in by the physio and his team. Recognition for their efforts is definitely in order here...."

- JayWalk, 01 Mar 2008

How we lost to Manchester City only to bounce back crushing Arsenal 4-0 and Newcastle 5-1 is a mystery to me. Mind you, these opponents are not minnows that we are expected to steamroll so easily. Newcastle United, while being a big club is having confidence issues when we mauled them 6-0 prior to Keegan's arrival. Apparently, the problem at Tyneside is much more serious than we had initially thought as we slapped them silly again in their own backyard with a 5-1 rout and this time with Keegan at the helm.

OK, so Newcastle wasn't that much of a threat but surely a 4-0 thumping of current league leaders Arsenal should count for something? One may say that perhaps it was due to the fact that the game was right before the resumption of the European Champions League. I disagree on account of the fact that we too had a ECL fixture then and looking at Arsenal's teamsheet, Wenger didn't field a weakened team against us either.

Oh well, all that is history and we should be looking forward from hereon.

We are expected to breeze through the Fulham game today which allows me to look slightly beyond. Yes, I am referring to the mid-week return leg of the ECL second-leg. We did relatively ok playing to a scored draw away to Lyon. This is typical of Fergie style as far as the ECL is concerned i.e. to kill off our opponents in two steps whenever we play our first-leg away. So far it has proven to be a relatively successful formula but still, I would have wished we finish them off as early as possible to maximise our rest time before the next game that actually count for something.

So anyway, I think after drawing Lyon in the first-leg, we will be luring them back to Old Trafford for the kill. I would expect nothing short of a win and as such, the away goal we scored in the first-leg is merely an insurance.

JayWalk The Talk: Let's start with Fulham first as Andreasen is serving a red-card suspension for a stupid kpkb protest against the controversial Solano goal at West Ham last week. ManUtd will make sure we make Fulham pay for his folly now that they are a key player short. Litmanen, Camara and Elliot are not expected to be fielded today which leaves them with Niemi, Konchesky, Davies and McBride as the only 4 notable names of being capable to provide some kind of resistance to today's pending onslaught.

Get ready to see the other 7 Fulham players on the field undermining each other as they continue to leak goals at an alarming rate.

As for ManUtd, it is all rosy as all players are out of the sickbay. While messrs Neville, Foster and Silvestre are not ready to feature in the first team, they have been making great strides in the reserve games. Barring new injuries, Fergie will have the luxury of a full squad to pick from when we cross into the crucial months of April and May. All this is attributed the hard work quietly and diligently put in by the physio and his team. Recognition for their efforts is definitely in order here.

On a smaller scale, Giggs, Evra and Vidic are doubtful for today due to minor injuries and illness. Expect Fergie to rest them ahead of the Lyon game. Saha should likely to start today after a fine form at Newcastle last week. That would allow Fergie to rest either Tevez or Rooney up front as well.

JayWalk The Walk: Today is a game between the team 2nd from the time and the team 2nd from the bottom. Looks like Fulham does not stand a chance of survival today.

Their head-to-head stands at 27 encounters dating all the way back to 1965 where Fulham only won once in Oct 2003 at Old Trafford by a score of 3-1 where Van der Sar and Saha were playing for them.

Bookies are making ManUtd give a 1.25-ball handicap with a decimal odds of 1.875, which I thought was rather generous since I think this game will finish nothing short of at least 2 goals i favour of the Red Devils. Perhaps the bookies are making provision that Fergie will rest several key players against Lyon.

Well, for me as well as 84% of the punter dollar say that even with a weakened team, we will still win by a 2 or more goal margin.

Take ManUtd and give the 1.25-ball handicap.

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.