English Premier
2011-12-31 - Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 31 December 2011 - Kick Off 12:45pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
It's hard to believe that it was only at the beginning of the month when Manchester United were considered to be a club in crisis as they fell out of the Champions League and were trailing Manchester City in the title race. Now they have a chance to end 2011 on a high by leading the way in the Premier League as long as they avoid defeat in this game.
United remain in 2nd place in the Premier League, but have wiped out City's points lead, while now only trailing their rivals by 5 goals thanks to back to back 5-0 wins. Both United and City have picked up 45 points from their opening games this season, dropping just 9 points from their opening 18 games. United improved to 7-1-1 at Old Trafford on Monday afternoon, scoring 28 goals and conceding 11 in those games.
Since losing to Basel in the Champions League, United have won 4 Premier League games in a row and have only conceded 1 goal in those games, all in the absence of Nemanja Vidic. The Red Devils have only conceded 2 goals in 9 Premier League games since the City defeat, and they have picked up 25 points from the 27 on offer.
Injuries are killing the squad at the moment, so much so that Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia were employed in the back line against Wigan. Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jones should be available, but Chris Smalling is rumoured to be out for the next 3 months. Jonny Evans is out, while Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley and Anderson are all missing.
Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck should be back in the team after being rested on Monday, while David De Gea should also return in goal.
Blackburn Rovers
Steve Kean was under all sorts of pressure following a home loss to Bolton Wanderers before Christmas, but he has shown defiance and was given a small reward as his side earned a 1-1 draw at Anfield last time out. Things do not get easier for the Scot this week though as they travel the short distance to Old Trafford for their final game in 2011.
As much as it was a positive result against Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers are still in a very vulnerable position at the bottom of the table and are fighting recent history as they look to become just the 2nd side in 20 years to escape relegation when bottom on Christmas Day. Blackburn are 0-5-4 away from home, scoring 13 goals but conceding a joint League high of 20 goals.
The draw at Anfield stopped a run of 3 consecutive defeats in the Premier League, while it was only the 2nd time in 12 games that they had not conceded at least 2 goals. However, they may gain some confidence from the fact that Rovers have scored in every away game they have played this season.
Mark Bunn had a truly great game in goal for Blackburn against Liverpool, but may be on the bench as Paul Robinson is expected back. There are still plenty of injuries in the squad for Steve Kean to worry about, particularly in defence. Gael Givet, Martin Olsson, Ryan Nelson and Scott Dann are all absent.
Head to Head
It is ironic that this fixture last season effectively sealed the deal on Sam Allardyce's fate as Blackburn manager and allowed Steve Kean to take charge following a 7-1 win for United.
For a while, Blackburn were a tough game game for United, but the Red Devils have won 7 in a row at Old Trafford against them in all competitions.
United have only won 2 of those 7 games by more than 2 goals.
Prediction
Putting together United's recent form as well as Blackburn's defensive concerns and you can see why the handicaps, half time-full time, and goalscorer markets have all been priced up as low as they have.
Blackburn are conceding far too many goals at the moment and that could let them down here at Old Trafford, particularly if they fall into a hole early. They seemed to ride their luck at Anfield, but could have easily lost by a landslide if their keeper had not been in such good form.
United are playing very well at the moment and even had a chance to rest a couple of players against Wigan- the likes of Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck will be eager to perform after seeing Dimitar Berbatov score a hat-trick, while the team have been flying since being knocked out of the Champions League.
They have won their last 4 games so easily and I am going to back Manchester United to cover the English Handicap of - 2 goals here at the prices being offered at Stan James (2.15).
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 3-0 Blackburn Rovers
