Middlesbrough v Manchester United: Red Devils ‘Holy Trinity’ to Run Riot at the Riverside?
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils are in seemingly unstoppable form both domestically and in Europe at the present time. After crushing Roma in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter-final in midweek, they can now afford to pick their strongest line-up for this important trip to the Riverside knowing they’ve one foot in the Semi-finals.
On paper this looks every inch a Premier 10 ‘banker’ for United. However, Boro have had a habit of upsetting the odds against Fergie’s side over recent years so perhaps this isn’t such a foregone conclusion.
Boro are United’s Bogey Side
Not many clubs can boast a record of 4 League wins over United in the last 6 years, however, Middlesbrough can. The fact that Boro have recorded two wins at the Riverside as well as two at Old Trafford is testament to their ‘United bogey side’ credentials. Despite their Premier League successes over United, Boro haven’t actually beaten the reigning Champions since October 2005. Therefore Fergie’s team are unbeaten in their last four encounters with Middlesbrough (2 wins & 2 draws). They’ve also won on 3 of their last 4 League trips to the Riverside (1 defeat) so should still be confident of picking up the all-important 3 points.
United in Full Flow
Manchester United are beginning to fire on all cylinders after bouncing back from a shock FA Cup defeat to Portsmouth. They’ve now racked up 5 wins in a row (in all competitions), all without conceding. Portsmouth’s Sulley Muntari may have scored a penalty against the Red Devils in their recent FA Cup tie but he remains the only player to score against Fergie’s side since the start of March. United haven’t conceded a goal from open play in a total of 720 minutes or 12 hours if you prefer. That works out as 7 clean-sheets in the last 8 matches in all competitions. They’ve also scored in 26 of the last 27 matches and possess two players in fine goal scoring form. Wayne Rooney has emerged from a 6-match goal scoring drought with 3 goals in his last 2 matches and Cristiano Ronaldo literally cannot stop scoring as 9 goals in his last 9 appearances would suggest. Both players have good scoring records against the Teessiders in recent encounters. Rooney has scored 4 goals in his last 7 matches against Boro whilst Ronaldo has scored 3 goals in his last 7. Throw in the fact Carlos Tevez has scored 3 goals in his last 2 appearances against Gareth Southgate’s team and you begin to fear for the home defence this weekend. This trio will certainly pose plenty of problems for Middlesbrough’s promising English centre-back David Wheater!
Boro’s Premier League Safety Not Assured, Yet!
Boro haven’t guaranteed themselves Premier League football next season just yet but there is an 8-point gap between them and 3rd from bottom Bolton so chances of relegation seem unlikely. However, they’ve only won once in the last 6 League matches (3 defeats) though they’ve faced the likes of Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea (all away) in this run. Middlesbrough were extremely unfortunate to lose their last game 1-0 at Stamford Bridge as Boro managed to spurn a number of chances. The Teessiders do boast a record of 3 wins in their last 4 League matches at the Riverside (1 defeat). This record loses it’s credibility when you examine the teams they’ve faced recently, in fact their last 4 home games were against clubs that currently lie in the bottom 6 positions of the Premier League.
Manchester’s New ‘Holy Trinity’
Boro may have the ability to shock the big guns on their day but they couldn’t be facing a United side with more confidence or belief entering the final weeks of the season. Therefore it’s almost impossible to back against the rampant Red Devils in this Premier 10 fixture. After all, Middlesbrough may stop Tevez, Rooney or even Ronaldo scoring but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for United’s opponents to stop all 3. The City of Manchester has been lucky enough to witness two different versions of the ‘holy trinity’ in the past. City had legends Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee whilst United had George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton. The ‘holy trinity’ currently residing at Old Trafford may be more cosmopolitan than the legends of past glories but an Englishman, an Argentinian and a certain free-scoring Portuguese star are proving to be every bit as difficult to stop.
Pundit’s Pick: United experience the joy of Six wins in a row (away win) Do you agree with this result for your Premier 10 prediction? Play Now>>
Tags: Boro, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Premier 10 preview, Premier League, Red Devils
