It’s time for Devils vs Fallen Angels
Mammoth. Somehow, the proportions of a Manchester United (Red Devils) and Liverpool match always assume gargantuan, slightly hairy, quite smelly, toothy, stompy, bellowy and oddly coloured proportions.
It doesn’t matter that Liverpool haven’t been United’s actual competitors for eons, barring slight aberrations. It doesn’t even matter that United now finally have their major rivals from across town to worry about. Somehow when Liverpool face United, the cup final qualities of the match come out in full force, serving up a feast of a spectacle, if not a great football match.
The nature of this iconic and bitter rivalry is such that an incident like the one between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra was barely required to add a truck of fat to the fire. Both sets of supporters have a steady build-up of bile and blood pressure as the match dates approach, regardless of pre-match brouhaha.
The last match, a feisty FA Cup fixture, saw a Dirk Kuyt goal get the better of a Wayne Rooney-less United, and that fact may prove to be the most vital factor on the day, as the dynamo has been quite outstanding in the past few weeks. Nani should have a late fitness test to determine his involvement. RYan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young and Valencia should otherwise round up the midfield. Paul Scholes ostensibly should face Liverpool for the last time too. Danny Welbeck could be unlucky enough to not start despite a number of excellent performances, but old ‘Redface Gumchewer’ has the happy problem of two in form strikers with Chicharito and him both firing golden bullets.
Liverpool were dire against Tottenham at home, but somehow their form away has been much better. The return of Suarez from his ban, almost certainly to the starting line-up, should galvanise the team, hopefully minus the “We <3 Luis” T-shirts. Kenny Dalglish’s team selection has been erratic at best, as has his management, and if Liverpool have to stand any chance of competing for the Champions League spot, they need to get a succession of positive results starting from Saturday.
The weekend sees some more enthralling fixtures in the offing, with Tottenham plus ‘arry (provided he hasn’t jumped in to replace Capello by then) taking on a dogged Newcastle. Sunderland host Arsenal and Everton are expected to roll over for Chelsea. In the Serie A, Udinese play Milan on Saturday while Bologna take on Juventus.
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