Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers preview

Posted Saturday, November 27, 2010 by thesportscampus.com

Sam Allardyce will take his Blackburn Rovers side on a short trip across Lancashire to take on old pal, Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United on Saturday. United earned a creditable 1-0 victory against Rangers in the Champions League in midweek thanks to Wayne Rooney penalty, and with quite a few senior players not travelling up north for the game, the squad should be well rested ahead of the game on Saturday. Blackburn on the other hand beat Aston Villa 2-0 last weekend thanks to a Morten Gamst Pederson brace. Both sides couldn't have more contrasting styles of play, with United dedicated to playing attacking football while Blackburn use the physical approach to great effect. United are very strong at home while Blackburn are poor travellers, hence, at least on paper, United are strong favourites to grab all three points.

Manchester United

The Red Devils produced yet another professional performance away from home in the Champions League on Wednesday, as they earned a well deserved victory that secured their place in the knockout round. It proved to be a cathartic night for their star striker, Wayne Rooney, as he began the process of rebuilding his tarnished image in the best way possible. The win also ensured that United kept their 5th straight clean sheet in the competition and Ferguson will be hoping his side can produce similar defensive performances in the League.

Rooney might still be rusty in front of goal, but a United line up with a fully fit Rooney leading the attack makes the Red Devils a completely different proposition for their opponents. With Dimitar Berbatov suffering a mid-season slump, Rooney and Javier Hernandez will be expected to lead from the front. Another attacker who has risen to prominence at Old Trafford has been Nani. The winger has added consistency and an end product to his undoubted talents and has become a vital outlet for the side along the front line.

Their problems have been in defence and midfield, where their failure to finish off teams has cost them dear this season. At the back, the problems at right back are yet to be resolved, with Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Rafael Da Silva all culpable at various points in the season so far. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra have been guilty of committing elementary mistakes too and they'll have to tighten up if Man Utd are to stand a chance of winning silverware come the beginning of May. Chelsea's unexpected mid season capitulation has given them a great opportunity to take the title race by the horns and with a hectic December fixture list coming up, Ferguson will demand maximum points from games against the lower ranked teams.

Blackburn Rovers

Rovers got a great result against Aston Villa last week, which took them up to 11th in the table, much to the delight of the new Indian owners. 'Big Sam' has built his Blackburn on the same model that worked wonders for him at Bolton Wanderers. They employ their typical physical approach, especially at home, where they are very hard to beat. They lack the quality to push on to bigger and better things, but the new owners have a solid foundation to build on and take Blackburn to the European positions in a couple of seasons time.

They are a very compact team and are a hard side to break down without natural width in your ranks. They have a very static defence, with Christophe Samba, Ryan Nelsen and Michel Salgado all lacking agility, thus making them susceptible to pace in behind the defence. Another area of concern has been in attack, where the strikers have failed to deliver on the goal front and they have had to depend on goals from midfielders and defenders. Morten Gamst Pederson is their top scorer with four goals and they need the likes of Nikola Kalinic, Jason Roberts and El-Hadji Diouf to chip in with goals if they are to avoid getting into a relegation dogfight.

After the game against United, they have vital fixtures against Wolves, Bolton, West Ham, West Brom and Stoke City and it is games against the teams around them that will decide their fate this season.

Head-to-Head:

31st Oct, 2009: Manchester United 2-0 Blackburn
11th April, 2010: Blackburn 0-0 Manchester United

Form Guide:

Manchester United: WWDDW
24th Nov, 2010: Rangers 0-1 Manchester United (Champions League)
20th Nov, 2010: Manchester United 2-0 Wigan
13th Nov, 2010: Aston Villa 2-2 Manchester United
10h Nov, 2010: Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United
6th Nov, 2010: Manchester United 2-1 Wolves

Blackburn: WLWWL
21st Nov, 2010: Blackburn 2-0 Aston Villa
13th Nov, 2010: Tottenham 4-2 Blackburn
10th Nov, 2010: Newcastle 1-2 Blackburn
6th Nov, 2010: Blackburn 2-1 Wigan
30th Nov, 2010: Blackburn 1-2 Chelsea

Probable Line Ups:

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van Der Sar (Gk), Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Rooney, Berbatov

The game against Rangers in midweek provided Ferguson with a chance to give his players returning from injuries like, Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Rooney, a chance to gain match fitness. They should line up in their standard 4-4-2 formation with the experienced Edwin van der Sar in goal. Rafael Da Silva is expected to return at right back while Patrice Evra should also return at left back after sitting out in midweek. Vidic and Ferdinand gave way to the young pair of Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling against Rangers, but should also return to the starting line up on Saturday. In midfield, Darren Fletcher is expected to return to his favoured central midfield role and should be joined by Michael Carrick. Nani and Park Ji-Sung will start down the wide positions, with both players preferring to cut infield while Rooney and Berbatov start up front as part of a two-pronged attack.

Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1): Robinson (Gk), Salgado, Samba, Nelson, Givet, Grella, Dunn,Goulon, Diouf , Pederson, Roberts

The defence picks itself, with Paul Robinson in goal with Salgado and Givet slotting in at full back. In central defence, Samba and Nelsen will be entrusted with the arduous task of blanking out Berbatov and Rooney. Sam Allardyce has huge problems in midfield, where Martin Olsson, Vince Grella, Keith Andrews, Steven N'Zonzi and Bret Emerton are out injured. Grella has a fighting chance of making it in time for the game on Saturday, if he fails to pass the fitness test, Phil Jones might be drafted into midfield alongside David Dunn and Herold Goulon. Mame Diouf, who is on loan from Man Utd is ineligible to play, hence El-Hadji Diouf and Pederson should start down the wings while Jason Roberts is expected to start up front as the lone striker.

Prediction: Man Utd are on an unbeaten run that stretches back to April and its hard to see them dropping points at Old Trafford against an average Blackburn side.

Predicted Scoreline: Manchester United 3-0 Blackburn Rovers