ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE GAMEWEEK 36
Manchester Utd Vs Sunderland
PRE-MATCH
DATE: Sat 3 May 2014
VENUE: Old Trafford
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
REFEREE: Howard Webb
ASSISTANTS: D Cann, S Massey.
Fourth Official: A Marriner.
Match Preview
Manchester United interim manager Ryan Giggs has allayed fears over Wayne Rooney's fitness for the FIFA World Cup.
Reports emerged on Thursday suggesting the England forward had left training prematurely to have a scan on a groin injury, sparking fears over his involvement for Roy Hodgson's side in Brazil next month.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of United's Barclays Premier League match with Sunderland on Saturday, Giggs revealed that Rooney had a slight groin strain and was also struggling with illness.
However, the striker has not yet been ruled out of facing Sunderland at Old Trafford. "A few of the lads have had a bug,” Giggs said.“Anders Lindegaard has, Wayne Rooney has too. Wayne also has a tight groin.
You have to be careful with the bug because the immune system is down a bit but, Wayne being Wayne, he wants to play.
We'll monitor it over the next 24 hours." Giggs was handed a boost this week with Robin
van Persie's return to training following a six-week lay-off with a knee injury, although Saturday's game may come too soon for the Dutchman.
"Robin has been back training this week; he's
looked good," Giggs said. "Whether tomorrow is too early we'll just see how he goes today. He's looked really good this week.
" Giggs will lead United for the second time since being asked to temporarily take the reins after the dismissal of David Moyes.
The Welshman is looking for back-to-back victories following last weekend's 4-0 rout of lowly Norwich City.
Sunderland will look to move closer to safety by
consigning Giggs to a first defeat. Since last month's 5-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the Wearside club have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence, drawing 2-2 at title favourites Manchester City and pulling off a stunning 2-1 win at Chelsea.
They rose to the occasion to beat fellow strugglers Cardiff City 4-0 at the Stadium of Light last Sunday, a victory that moved Poyet's men out of the bottom three for the first time since February.
There is a new-found belief that Sunderland can
pull of a great escape, though, and they have fond memories of their Capital One Cup semi-final against United in January - when they won on penalties.
Striker Fabio Borini, scorer of two penalties in their last two games, is bullish over the north-east club's chances of staying up and Saturday's trip to Old Trafford holds no fear for the on-loan Liverpool striker.
"We have two more home games left and one
away and we need to keep believing." he told the club's website.
"We’ve made a big step forward and must keep doing the same. "We must go to Manchester like we did in the cup semi-final, our visit to Manchester [City] a couple of weeks ago, and the game at Chelsea.
It doesn’t matter who we play against, we play for ourselves first of all." Borini has struck up a great understanding with Connor Wickham, who has been given a new lease of life by Poyet and heads to Old Trafford with a spring in his step after scoring five goals in his last three matches.
History is not Sunderland's side, however, as they have not beaten United on their own patch since 1968.
United still have a chance of qualifying for the
UEFA Europa League. They are six points behind
Spurs with a match in hand and far better goal
difference. Rafael Da Silva (knock) is expected to miss out.
Poyet could name an unchanged side, although
midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini staked his claim for a start by scoring one goal and setting up another after coming off the bench against Cardiff.
Current Form
Man Utd
W 4 - 0 v NOR (H)
L 2 - 0 v EVE (A)
W 0 - 4 v NEW (A)
W 4 - 1 v AVL (H)
L 0 - 3 v MCI (H)
W 0 - 2 v WHU (A)
Sunderland
W 4 - 0 v CAR (H)
W 1 - 2 v CHE (A)
D 2 - 2 v MCI (A)
L 0 - 1 v EVE (H)
L 5 - 1 v TOT (A)
L 1 - 2 v WHU (H)
Head-to-Head
sunderland won - 0
Drawn - 2
Man utd won - 8 Please drop your comments below...
Manchester Utd Vs Sunderland
PRE-MATCH
DATE: Sat 3 May 2014
VENUE: Old Trafford
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
REFEREE: Howard Webb
ASSISTANTS: D Cann, S Massey.
Fourth Official: A Marriner.
Match Preview
Manchester United interim manager Ryan Giggs has allayed fears over Wayne Rooney's fitness for the FIFA World Cup.
Reports emerged on Thursday suggesting the England forward had left training prematurely to have a scan on a groin injury, sparking fears over his involvement for Roy Hodgson's side in Brazil next month.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of United's Barclays Premier League match with Sunderland on Saturday, Giggs revealed that Rooney had a slight groin strain and was also struggling with illness.
However, the striker has not yet been ruled out of facing Sunderland at Old Trafford. "A few of the lads have had a bug,” Giggs said.“Anders Lindegaard has, Wayne Rooney has too. Wayne also has a tight groin.
You have to be careful with the bug because the immune system is down a bit but, Wayne being Wayne, he wants to play.
We'll monitor it over the next 24 hours." Giggs was handed a boost this week with Robin
van Persie's return to training following a six-week lay-off with a knee injury, although Saturday's game may come too soon for the Dutchman.
"Robin has been back training this week; he's
looked good," Giggs said. "Whether tomorrow is too early we'll just see how he goes today. He's looked really good this week.
" Giggs will lead United for the second time since being asked to temporarily take the reins after the dismissal of David Moyes.
The Welshman is looking for back-to-back victories following last weekend's 4-0 rout of lowly Norwich City.
Sunderland will look to move closer to safety by
consigning Giggs to a first defeat. Since last month's 5-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the Wearside club have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence, drawing 2-2 at title favourites Manchester City and pulling off a stunning 2-1 win at Chelsea.
They rose to the occasion to beat fellow strugglers Cardiff City 4-0 at the Stadium of Light last Sunday, a victory that moved Poyet's men out of the bottom three for the first time since February.
There is a new-found belief that Sunderland can
pull of a great escape, though, and they have fond memories of their Capital One Cup semi-final against United in January - when they won on penalties.
Striker Fabio Borini, scorer of two penalties in their last two games, is bullish over the north-east club's chances of staying up and Saturday's trip to Old Trafford holds no fear for the on-loan Liverpool striker.
"We have two more home games left and one
away and we need to keep believing." he told the club's website.
"We’ve made a big step forward and must keep doing the same. "We must go to Manchester like we did in the cup semi-final, our visit to Manchester [City] a couple of weeks ago, and the game at Chelsea.
It doesn’t matter who we play against, we play for ourselves first of all." Borini has struck up a great understanding with Connor Wickham, who has been given a new lease of life by Poyet and heads to Old Trafford with a spring in his step after scoring five goals in his last three matches.
History is not Sunderland's side, however, as they have not beaten United on their own patch since 1968.
United still have a chance of qualifying for the
UEFA Europa League. They are six points behind
Spurs with a match in hand and far better goal
difference. Rafael Da Silva (knock) is expected to miss out.
Poyet could name an unchanged side, although
midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini staked his claim for a start by scoring one goal and setting up another after coming off the bench against Cardiff.
Current Form
Man Utd
W 4 - 0 v NOR (H)
L 2 - 0 v EVE (A)
W 0 - 4 v NEW (A)
W 4 - 1 v AVL (H)
L 0 - 3 v MCI (H)
W 0 - 2 v WHU (A)
Sunderland
W 4 - 0 v CAR (H)
W 1 - 2 v CHE (A)
D 2 - 2 v MCI (A)
L 0 - 1 v EVE (H)
L 5 - 1 v TOT (A)
L 1 - 2 v WHU (H)
Head-to-Head
sunderland won - 0
Drawn - 2
Man utd won - 8 Please drop your comments below...
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