MANCHESTER UNITED v BIRMINGHAM - MORE NEW YEAR’S BLUES AT OLD TRAFFORD FOR BIRMINGHAM?
Sir Alex Ferguson goes head to head with another of his former players on New Years Day when he takes on his former Aberdeen star Alex McLeish’s Birmingham side. The year ended poorly for United with defeat at West Ham just when the title race seemed to be turning in their favour after a 5-match December winning run.
Birmingham picked up 4 points from their post Christmas matches but will surely be disappointed they couldn’t beat Fulham and extend the gap between them and the bottom 3 sides. The Blues have won 2 matches on their travels this season but don’t expect them to gain anything from this trip, after all they have not won at Old Trafford for 30 years and face a United side who usually bounce back convincingly after defeat. In fact, Birmingham have not beaten the Red Devils home or away for 30 years, a total of 19 matches (14 defeats). This was the year Ian Botham became the first man to score 100 runs and take 8 wickets in just 1 innings in a test match and John Travolta and Olivia Newton John were number 1 with ‘Summer nights’.
United boast the best home defensive record and the Premier League’s top scorer in Cristiano Ronaldo who may be even harder to contain than usual after missing a penalty in the 2-1 defeat at West Ham. So back the Red Devils on Premier 10 to have a New Year’s Day party at Old Trafford.
Pundit’s Pick: Red Devils look great in 2008 (home win)
Tags: 01/01/08, Alex McLeish, Birmingham, Blues, Manchester United, Red Devils, Sir Alex Ferguson
