Manchester United vs Portsmouth: Prediction Panel 2009/10

Manchester United will be the shortest odds favourites of the weekend against rock-bottom Portsmouth; United have the opportunity to go top and push some pressure onto Chelsea and Arsenal ahead of their Sunday clash. Pompey showed plenty of form, again, in defeat to Fulham and sooner or later will ...

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Arsenal can still win the title - or finish seventh

When Arsenal crumbled against Manchester United on Sunday, and with Chelsea set to play Hull, most pundits saw an eight point gap opening up between Chelsea and Arsenal - with United somewhere in the middle. As it is a stumbling draw for the west London team means that Arsenal can go to Stamford Br...

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Arsenal vs Manchester United: Today's ultimate team

Third plays second at the Emirates today and with Chelsea in good form will a loser here fall out of title contention? With so many injuries and suspensions to both Arsenal and Manchester United this could make this a game where a mistake gifts the game one way or the other. Still the best combine...

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Arsenal v Manchester United: Arsenal are Gunner be a handful for the champions

Aston Villa and the framework prevented Arsenal from taking all three points in midweek but the Panel firmly believes that nothing will stop the Gunners gain all three points against the champions this afternoon. Nobody, so far, thinks that United, who of course will be on a high following their dra...

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Tide turning in Manchester even as United beat City

Manchester United beat City with some comfort at a noisy and belligerent Old Trafford last night but underlying moves in the transfer market signal that this could be a temporary reprieve from a switch in power bases. The signing of Chris Smalling from Fulham signals the seemingly inevitable depart...

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Sir Alex Ferguson is left with three options - is resignation the worst of them?

There is a strange mood at Old Trafford at the moment. The champions of the last three seasons went top with a 4-0 win on Saturday but the only real subject worth singing about was the owners. Which may seem odd but as it also dominated the manager's thoughts ahead of the game it is clearly newswo...

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Manchester United vs Hull City: United look to go top

Manchester United start the day in third place a point behind the leaders, Arsenal, with Hull in eighteenth although a win would see them move up four places. There may be some green and gold in evidence at Old Trafford today as one group of fans have chosen the old Newton Heath colours as a sign o...

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Manchester United v Burnley: Fergie’s set to teach Brian the Laws of top flight football

It has been a poor start to 2010 for the champions Manchester United. They were dumped out of the FA Cup by bitter rivals Leeds United at home and are still searching for their first win of the year. However, the revelations about the Glazers possibly selling Old Trafford and Carrington training gro...

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Fear and loathing at Manchester United

The £500m begging letter issued by the Glazer family this week has once more galvanized the bulk of Manchester United supporters. The £500m bond offer document is little more than a death sentence for what was once Britain's richest club. The document details how much the Glazers have already take...

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Is Carlos Tevez the new Eric Cantona?

To many Manchester United fans there will never be another Eric Cantona at United but that isn't the point - have City been gifted his natural heir? The parallels are striking. The Champions lose a good - but not yet great - striker to hated rivals who haven't won the title for over 20 years. T...

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Birmingham City vs Manchester United: Tight game in prospect

Eighth placed Birmingham City face second placed Manchester United in one of only two fixtures to survive today (so far). Birmingham City probably face Man United at a good time; United seem to be having a bit of a mid-season blip, their defence is below strength and the team is simply not creatin...

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Manchester United transfer diary 2 January 2010 - 5 January 2010

Whether United have any money or not is exercising plenty of debate at the moment. The Glazers are fairly publically touting for banks that will offer them better interest rates than they could get at the height of the credit boom. As soon as the Bank of ELves and Pixies get in touch I'm sure it w...

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Is the FA Cup exit a bonus for Manchester United?

Arsene Wenger seems determined that the FA Cup is detrimental to his side; firstly he widely reported his desire to field another youthful team in the competition. And then when the kids do him proud (again) he is quick to spot a glass that is half full. Manchester United's exit is surely a great ...

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Manchester United transfer diary 20 December 2009 - 1 January 2010

Manchester United's injury problems are starting to lessen as we enter the new year with the club able to field four defenders against Wigan on Wednesday night so transfer activity is likely to be light. But United do need someone to help generate more goals - either scoring them or making them - b...

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Premier League Team of the Decade (2000-2009)

This is a difficult team to compile because it would be so easy to let bias drift in and allow players that are dominant in the latter part of the decade more credit than players that were just as important a few years ago. So I decided to use the teams produced by the PFA as the teams of the year ...

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Manchester United vs Wigan Athletic: United look to close up title race

Manchester United start the game in second spot against a Wigan side in a relegation scrap. After ten straight wins over Wigan, the expectation must be that United will win again. But a similar record at home to Villa was recent busted and this season it seems that there is a shock in every round ...

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Hull City vs Manchester United: Defensive concerns

Hull dropped into the relegation zone overnight and face a Manchester United side looking to close in on leaders Chelsea. Hull were passed on Boxing Day by West Ham and Bolton and with the worst goal difference in the division (even Wigan, despite their 9-1 loos at Tottenham have a better goal diff...

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Manchester City: What now for Mark Hughes?

Despite being relieved of his duties at Manchester City Mark Hughes remains one of the best British managers in the game. He is no doubt going to enjoy a well-earned Christmas break but it’s only a matter of time before we see him back on the touchlines. The big question though is where? A number o...

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Fulham vs Manchester United: Will Europa League have sapped Fulham?

Ninth placed Fulham play second placed Manchester United the day after both were handed tough European games in the new year. With Fulham just three points behind Manchester City, and only four behind Liverpool and with the Europa League group section safely negotiated it looks like another good se...

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Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Will Wolves follow in Villa’s footsteps and beat the champions?

Wolves weren’t given a hope in hell of beating Spurs at the weekend but Kevin Doyle’s early strike at the lane gave the West Midlands club three huge points in their quest to avoid the drop. Tonight they head to Old Trafford to face the champions and again they enter the game as rank outsiders, but ...

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Manchester United vs Aston Villa: Game of the day

The big game of the day is at Old Trafford where second placed Manchester United face fifth placed Aston Villa - United can go top with a win (depending on the Chelsea result), and Villa will move past Arsenal if they win and although Spurs have a winnable home game in prospect, Villa can go third i...

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Obertan and Valencia can replace Cristiano Ronaldo as United go back to the 1990s

As any number of pundits pointed out last summer, you can't replace Cristiano Ronaldo - he offers goals, pace, dead ball threat and those direct tricky runs that defenders absolutely loathe. But what United have done is look to minimise the impact by adapting their game and by combining the attribu...

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Could James Beattie move to one of the big four - specifically Arsenal?

James Beattie has discovered that talking to your manager about extra time off for Christmas parties whilst he is in the altogether is a bad negotiating practice. Tony Pulis has apologised for his alleged punch - but while there seems little doubt which of the two will leave the club, where will Be...

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Transfer Speculation: Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg) to Manchester United

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, railed against the inflated transfer valuations last summer by only making one major purchase (as opposed to running out of money). Forward players like Carlos Tevez, Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery were all in the frame for United, but once United acce...

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Which Premier League side has the biggest injury crisis - Arsenal, Everton, West Ham or Man United?

With so many managers complaining about injuries it might be a good moment to recap how Premier League injuries are panning out - and which teams are suffering the most. Of course the biggest impact is not only caused by the number of injuries - its caused by injuries concentrated in a particular p...

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What 'growing consensus' about Manchester United's 'financial crisis'?

In the Mail on Sunday (06.12.2009) Rod Draper contends that there is 'growing consensus among European clubs that Manchester United face an imminent financial crisis'. A quite startling development because although United have been ladled with an awful lot of debt there has been no real indication ...

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West Ham United v Manchester United: Goals guaranteed at Upton Park

If it is goals you want then Upton Park is the place for you. The West Ham faithful have witnessed 30 goals this season, 15 for and against, and with the Hammers’ toothless defence up against United’s clinical striking it’s fair to say that tally will only increase this weekend. West Ham do not hav...

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Transfer Speculation: Nani (Manchester United) to Anywhere (£10m)

Neil Custis in The Sun today suggests that Manchester United will offload Nani in Jauary - which seems a reasonable call for a player that has played nearly 100 games for United in two and a half seasons without ever really nailing down a place. There are a number of comments that Nani has never be...

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Transfer Speculation: Yaya Toure (Barcelona) to Chelsea/Man United

It's a kind of unwritten rule that European footballers who want a pay hike talk to their agents who drop little hints that their man want to come to Arsenal/Chelsea/Man United/Liverpool (delete as applicable). But it is rarer for agents to give the hurry-up simply to get their boy a game! Today T...

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Transfer Speculation: Takayuki Morimoto (Catania) to Manchester United

Manchester United are keen on signing Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto, 21, who is currently playing for Catania in Italy according to yesterday's 'hotline' in The People. Several years after clubs stopped signing players for purely commercial reasons (although doubts persist as to the Dong Fan...

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Prediction: Premier League top four at Christmas - Spurs third, Liverpool fourth?

With Chelsea's momentum building with the 3-0 dismissal of Arsenal and Manchester United recovering well from the disappointment at Stamford Bridge with a 3-0 win against Everton and a 4-1 win at Portsmouth, the top two at Christmas seems assured. Chelsea are 10 points clear of third placed Tottenh...

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Transfer Speculation: Micah Richards (Manchester City) to Manchester United

With Christmas barely three months away we can all indulge ourselves in some fanciful speculation ahead of the main banquet in January. According to the Mirror Manchester United are set to make a surprise move for Manchester City defender Micah Richards, if the Eastlands outfit decide to offload th...

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Portsmouth vs Manchester United: You are my first, my last, my everything?

Rock-bottom Portsmouth have this week sacked Paul Hart and replaced him with Avram Grant and face a Manchester United side chasing a fourth successive league title - not many fixed odds coupons will not have this one down as a banker away win. Avram Grant takes over from Paul Hart at Portsmouth and...

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Which 16 English stadiums could host World Cup 2018 and will Merseyside miss out?

It does seem a bit presumptuous to invite cities (and Milton Keynes) to bid for the right to be part of the attempt by the FA to get England chosen as the 2018 World Cup host nation. But given the success of the London Olympic bid there is some optimism that England could get this twice in a lifeti...

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Is a shock Besiktas win at Manchester United possible?

Anyone who saw the lacklustre Manchester United display for an hour against CSKA Moscow must be wondering whether a United side that has already qualified will somehow show more commitment? Although Sir Alex Ferguson is unlikely to accept another below par performance he is also likely to rest some...

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Manchester United vs Everton: Premier League Prediction Panel

Preview to follow ... Manchester United vs Everton; Kick Off 5:30pm 21 Nov 2009 Prediction Panel Our panel contains both Squarefootball writers and readers, the writers are marked: (sqf). Dave Blackburn : 2 - 0 Chris Cox : TBC Graham Enwright : 1 - 0 Sue Gardener : TBC Chris Goodwin : 1 - 1 Paul ...

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The striker shortage before Christmas could cost Arsenal the title

Arsenal have defied all the doubters this season and if they can maintain their form through to Christmas then the title is there for the taking because all the main challengers have problems of their own. Manchester United are looking weaker with the removal of Ronaldo, while this was probably ine...

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Could Tottenham offer a way out for Man United's goalkeeper friction?

Goalkeeper is a tough position for all sorts of reasons; outfield players can get some time on the pitch as substitutes or out of position. But for goalkeepers only games started really count. The friction between Manchester United's goalkeepers is getting to be a bit more public than is usual at ...

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Chelsea v Manchester United: Fergie set to leave capital with the Blues

The Premier League leaders entertain the champions Manchester United this afternoon in arguably the biggest game of the season so far and surprisingly no-one in our Panel has plumped for a United victory. Chelsea have made a strong start to the season and are currently in excellent form. They have ...

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Why Chelsea will beat Manchester United?

The Premier League’s top two clash at the Bridge on Sunday but in my mind there’s only going to be one winner and that’s the boys in Blue. Most teams fear the arrival of the champions Manchester United, but Chelsea thrive on meetings with the Red Devils. They have taken more points off Fergie’s me...

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Chelsea: Besides Rooney, would any Manchester United stars get into your starting XI?

Premier League leaders Chelsea welcome the champions Manchester United to the Bridge this weekend in arguably the biggest game of the season so far. Just two points separate the English giants but the Red Devils know a defeat in West London would severely damage their hopes of lifting a fourth succe...

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Everton says that Liverpool FC is the most popular club*

Social Media (web 2.0 is so 2008) is starting to dominate the thoughts of our top football clubs, to the extent that the official Everton website is now urging the club's fans to sign up for Facebook and "Help the Blues become league champions and show the rest of the Premier League why Evertonians ...

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Michael Owen could dream a dream against CSKA

Michael Owen's dreams do not concern scoring the winning goal for England in the World Cup final - and that's official. In fact Owen barely thinks about England at all, as his quotes about England that he made yesterday make clear. "I don't go to bed thinking about if I will play for England again...

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Manchester United learn the lessons of Milan mauling

With the two teams most likely to win the Premier League meeting this weekend the analysis of the two teams will be extensive, so it was interesting on Saturday to read of a defensive crisis at Manchester United. On Saturday the BBC considered United missing Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Gary Ne...

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Cartoon: Blame it on Rio Part 2

Following accusations by the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, that the press was responsible for Rio Ferdinand's decline in form the fourth estate has dramatically apologised ... ...

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Manchester United look to hit sickly Blackburn

After defeat at Anfield, Manchester United look to regain top spot against a swine flu weakened Blackburn. Manchester United's other first eleven progressed in the League Cup in the week to ease some of the pain of losing 2-0 against Liverpool. Obertan, Welbeck and Owen caught the eye on Tuesday a...

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Is Berbatov On Borrowed Time?

Flashes of brilliance best defines Dimitar Berbatov’s Manchester United career to date, (the sublime goal line turn and flick to set up Ronaldo against West Ham comes to mind), but surely £30m warrants more than intermittent touches of class.At the time of writing, his career at Old Trafford represe...

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Manchester United look for a reaction at Barnsley

Barnsley lie 20th in the Championship and surely Ipswich and Reading have too much quality to remain mired in the relegation zone for much longer. Barnsley is coming off the backs of defeats to Bristol City (3-2) and Nottingham Forest (1-0) and Mark Robins will be considering the merits of the leag...

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Six quick reasons why Manchester United will beat Liverpool today

Manchester United travel down the east-Lancs supremely confident that they can pile more misery on these consistently noisy neighbours from Liverpool and the reasons to be confident are clear. 1. United is the form team of the division with ten wins and a draw in the last eleven games; United will ...

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Six quick reasons why Liverpool will beat Manchester United today

The big game of the weekend sees Liverpool trying to upstage its old enemy from 30-odds miles east against the backdrop of bad form and fans protests - but what are the reasons for Liverpool to be cheerful? 1. Liverpool tend to thrive on big occasions, a great record against the big four last seaso...

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