Match
Overview : Saturday, 9th November 2002
Once
again the Manchester derby is upon us, and it is a game
which will see both teams desperate not to lose. Man City
come into this game on the back of an embarrasing Worthington
Cup defeat 1-0 against Wigan in midweek, a game in which
they fielded a near full strength side. Steve Howie and
Sylvain Distin picked up knocks and are doubtful for this
game. Man Utd won their midweek game 2-0 ,fielding an
understrength side, and this is a game that has come at
the right time for United. They will, however, be missing
inspirational captain David Beckham, who is suspended
for this game.
Manchester
City's form is patchy to say the least. They have lost
their last two games at home and now seem to be playing
better away from Maine Road! In fact, you have to look
as far back as August 31st to find Man City's last home
win, when they beat Everton 3-1.This is due to the fact
that they conceding goals at home with 9 put past them
already with only Charlton having conceded more. Man Utd
have taken 6 points out of 15 away from Old Trafford so
far, infact they have only won once and drawn three. This
is due to the fact that United are actually struggling
in front of goal, with Van Nistelrooy netting only 4 times
so far. Diego Forlan does seem, however, to have found
his scoring touch, scoring twice in two league games,
the latter being a stunning 25 yarder against Southampton.
They are still not defensively solid at the back, and
they have not kept a clean sheet at the back in the last
3 games. This may bode well for Man City star Nicolas
Anelka, who has netted 6 times in the Premiership already.
This
being a derby is difficult to call, but I'm going with
a small stake on Man Utd. Confidence will be low in the
Man City camp after their terrible loss in midweek, and
their players will also be fatigued. Man Utd rested most
of theirs, with players such as Barthez, Veron and Scholes
starting on the bench, and so should be fresher. Man City
have not won at home in the league for 2 months. Players
on both sides will not want to let their fans down, but
I expect a Beckham-less Man Utd to sneak a win here.
