Man Utd v Celtic: Preview

Pre-match prattle: The usual media bollocks about the battle of Britain. As if United and Celtic are the English and Scottish first eleven, respectively; get England to actually play Scotland in a friendly in the first place, for fuck’s sake!

Ok, that’s the anger part out of the way… now let’s get a little quotesy.

Ferguson talks about Rafa da Silva and how he’s given him a good selection headache:

“In football, when a guy turns the corner you cannot do anything about it. Rafael is a great talent and his performances are telling me I have another problem at right-back. It is a learning process playing against that power and experience. Premier League football is not easy. I didn’t realise how big Brunt was and what a nice left foot he had, so that presented a challenge for Rafael. For periods in the game he was finding his way and it was only when I was going to take him off that he started to play the way we know he can. He was excellent. The positions he took up and the penetration from deep positions was absolutely superb. It gives me a selection problem that is good for the club.”

The other bit from Fergie was about the prospect of playing Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov in the same starting XI:

“My torment… It is very difficult trying to gauge whether I can play the three of them together. I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now. It is possible, with one of them playing in behind. It is a very difficult situation because they are all terrific players.”

There is some more from the boss, but then I am done being quotesy.

In team news, Anderson and Tevez return to the squad while there are reports that say Fergie might rest Ronaldo. This should pave the way for Nani to get a start — something that’s been rare for him this season — and give him a chance to remind the gaffer of his ability.

I think Tevez will start alongside Berbatov although, I suspect, Rooney wouldn’t like to be benched against a team like Celtic. Perhaps, he could play all three in which case someone would have to be shunted wide. Which, to me, isn’t a bright idea. I think it’ll be Nani and Park on the wings, Tevez-Berbatov upfront, Fletcher-Giggs in the middle and Neville-Rio-Vidic-EvraO’Shea at the back with EVDS taking his place between the sticks — in a 4-4-2.

Prediction: 2-0 to United.

I suppose that’s enough preview. This thread’s open folks, as always. Over to you