Barnsley vs Manchester United: Preview

You’re only as good as your last game and following eleven without defeat, Sunday proved something of a wake-up call. United certainly need to up the ante and fortunately they won’t have to wait very long to attempt to put things right. A little over 50 hours to be precise as a trip to Barnsley in the Carling Cup will hopefully lift spirits, if ever so slightly, following the depressing result at Anfield.

It’s been eleven years since we last visited Oakwell where Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham were on target in a 2-0 win. You may or may not be aware that the current Barnsley manager, Mark Robins, once scored a winning goal against Nottingham Forest for United back in 1990 that is widely believed to have saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s bacon at Old Trafford. He certainly hasn’t looked back since.

You would expect that Ferguson is bound to make a plethora of changes for the tie although he should stop short of picking an entirely different eleven to Sunday. Ben Foster or Tomasz Kuszczak will replace Edwin van der Sar in goal and the back four should definitely see starts for both Wes Brown and Jonny Evans. Gary Neville or Rafael could feature at right-back while Fabio may replace Patrice Evra on the left-hand-side of defence despite his red card in the third round against Wolves.

Following Gabriel Obertan’s return from injury, it has been confirmed that he will make his first appearance for the first team. Darron Gibson should definitely vacate a central midfield slot and Darren Fletcher could come in alongside him having missed out in recent weeks through injury.

Magnus Eikrem will be desperate to show what he is all about following a string of polished performances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s second string although one would suspect he will only make the bench. With Obertan expected to start on the right, Nani or Zoran Tosic will most likely be selected on the left.

With Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov all involved against Liverpool, Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck could be given the chance to impress up top. After a lively debut in the previous round, expect Josh King to appear later on in the game as an impact sub too.

Speaking prior to the match on Tuesday evening, Ferguson has challenged the Reds to prove their credentials by recovering from the defeat to Liverpool.

“Part of the challenge is to get over disappointments,” he said.

“Last season we lost at home 4-1 to Liverpool which was a travesty but we went on to win the league.”

While Sir Alex may be directing his comments more specifically at those who are to be involved against Blackburn this coming weekend, a result against Barnsley will be the first step in the right direction before the vitally important visit of Sam Allardyce’s side. The critics have already surfaced once again despite 10 wins from our previous 12 although anything but a victory against Barnsley and the knives will be sharpened even further.

So what exactly stands in the way of United and a safe passage to the quarter-finals of a competition that has served us so well in recent times? Well Barnsley are struggling in the Championship where they currently sit in 20th place, four points above the relegation spots. Having put together a decent run at the beginning of October, the south Yorkshire club have lost their last two on the spin.

Despite their relatively poor league standing, the Tykes put on an impressive show to knock Burnley out in the last round of the Carling Cup and watch out for Daniel Bogdanovic, the Maltese striker who has scored four goals in eight for Barnsley so far this season.

Prediction: 3-0 United

Manchester United vs Wolves: Preview

I’m sure many of us are still riding high on the peak of cloud nine following the last gasp events of Sunday afternoon and who in their right mind can blame us! In fairness, you could even be forgiven for allowing this evening’s fixture against Wolves to have slipped the mind and altogether dipped off the radar.

Although however seriously United fans may or may not be taking the League Cup this season, you can bet your bottom dollar that the side Sir Alex decides to pick will be hell bent on putting on an impressive performance.

At the end of the day, as League Cup winners last season, the lads certainly have a trophy to defend and you would like to think that they will approach this task with a certain degree of gusto and determination. OK so lifting the League Cup clearly won’t be the pinnacle moment of any of these player’s careers but this competition does present the opportunity for fringe players and youthful exuberance to stake a claim.

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Ferguson will undoubtedly want to win the game and his team sheet should reflect that exact point. It is between the sticks that I believe the United boss will have his toughest decision to make with Edwin van der Sar still crocked. Does Fergie opt to continue with Foster despite his somewhat calamitous performance against City in a drastic attempt to restore some confidence? On the other hand is it time the somewhat forgotten man amongst the goalkeeping ranks, Tomasz Kuszczak, was given a chance without the pressure of Premier League points being at stake?

Tonight should mark the return of Wes Brown back into the starting eleven and if Gary Neville gets the nod at right-back, Brown will likely partner Rio Ferdinand (as punishment for his mistake to continue his comeback from injury) in the centre of defence. Patrice Evra should be afforded the night off having played in every competitive game thus far this season so young Fabio da Silva could come in as a direct replacement at left-back.

In midfield Nani should take centre stage on the left wing with Danny Welbeck possibly lining up on the right-hand-side. Darron Gibson will be desperate for a start in the middle of midfield alongside Michael Carrick who will see tonight’s proceedings as the perfect chance to get his season up and running with a polished performance.

After his heroics on the weekend, Michael Owen will be rewarded with a start (although you would think that was part of the plan whether he scored on Sunday or not) alongside Italian Federico Macheda. I’ll apologise now for a team that will no doubt prove to be 99% wrong!
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So what have the respective manager’s had to say in the build up to this third round tie? Well Sir Alex has, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, issued a warning to Macheda and Welbeck, urging them to assume a club>country mentality.

"Welbeck has been called away so much with every single England squad [the Under-19s and Under-21s] that I don’t know if he is our player or their player," Ferguson said as quoted by The Times.

"Macheda has been away with the Italy youth teams all the time and has hardly been with us, either. They are away that much with the youth squads, they have forgotten where their real place is."

Meanwhile Mick McCarthy has indicated that his Wolves side will look to attack from the off at Old Trafford which will hopefully make for an entertaining encounter.

"We are not going there to sit back," the Wolves boss is quoted as saying by The Independent.

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"We will play 4-4-2 and have a game with them. I have never beaten United at Old Trafford in anything. We want to try to win the game."

Even with a starting eleven stripped of the likes of Wayne Rooney and the ever impressive Darren Fletcher, a victory should be well within our grasp. Wolves will see this as the perfect opportunity to attempt to get on the front foot which could prove their immediate downfall and with a few United player’s keen to prove their worth, we should end up ultimately having too much for the newly promoted side.

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Prediction: 3-1 United