Carling Cup Third Round tie against Middlesbrough - Pre Match Preamble

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by Jay

Any other season and tonight wouldn’t worry me - you’d expect Manchester United to walk over Middlesborough without breaking sweat. However, after United’s shaky start to this season, with defeat at Anfield and a draw at Stamford Bridge, I’m not so sure. Ferguson is likely to field a number of younger players tonight as he likes to use matches like this to build up experience however United need to make sure that they take nothing for granted tonight despite the fact that at the last meeting between the two clubs, the end-game score card was 4-1 in Manchester United’s favour.

With this being a Cup Match, Ferguson will be unlikely to reveal his tem selection until just prior to the match however he has promised a mixture of old and new players.

Injury-wise, van der Sar is likely to be rested after picking up a knee injury against Chelsea last Sunday. Equally, Ferguson is unlikely to risk key players like Rooney and Ronaldo picking up any injuries that might affect United’s League performances.