EPL Preview : Manchester United vs Blackpool

Yes its the final week of this season’s intriguing and enthralling premier league and probably the most significant week as well as teams fight it out “no holds barred” for their survival. Manchester United have captured the “Holy Grail” of English Football for a record 19th time. Now only 90 minutes of football against a Blackpool side on Sunday stands in their way before they can lay hands on the much deserved silverware .

THE FLASHBACK MOMENT

Backpool 2-3 Manchester United

January 25th ,

The all important winner

The last time these two sides met made for a dramatic tie. Blackpool were off to a blazing start and had secured a 2 goal lead when United old boy Craig Cathcart and DJ Campbell struck past Van Der Sar in the 15th and 43rd minute respectively. It appeared as though Blackpool would end United’s unbeaten run in the premier league. But the inevitable did happen in the second half, thanks to Ferguson’s “hair dryer treatment “. A completely rejuvenated United side came up to the task in the second half and goals on either side of Chicharito’s equalizer from Dimitar Berbatov pulled the curtains on Blackpool. The winner Berbatov scored with just 3 minutes to go on the clock was his 2oth of the season and took him to the top of the goal scorers list. He is still in the running for the golden boot, tied with Tevez with 20 goals each. Hopefully Ferguson will make sure to give him a chance to play against Blackpool and pocket the golden boot award.

Manchester United vs Blackpool

May 22nd, 2011

United go into this match with nothing to lose except for the fact that it will be their first home defeat if they do lose, which is highly unlikely. Its a completely different story on the other side. Blackpool are sandwiched between Birmingham and Wigan in the 18th position with 39 points each struggling hard to stay with the elite English clubs for another season. The worst part is that even a win against United wont put them out of the relegation zone , their fate lies in the hands of the other two games i.e. Stoke city vs Wigan and Tottenham vs Birmingham.With the top spot already secured and one eye on the champions league final against Barcelona at Wembley next week, Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t hesitate in making changes in wholesale to the side that was held for a draw against Blackburn last week. He has stated that Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes , Anderson, Berbatov, Evra and Van der Sar will all be up in action against the “tangerines”.

Blackpool's "Ringmaster " …

The Tangerines will be ready to give their one hundred percent and Ian Holloway will put forward his finest on the pitch to take home the most important 3 points of his life .Two men to watch out for will be Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell. Charlie Adam has been a revelation for Blackpool this Season, he has scored 12 goals for Blackpool this season and has played a major part as a captain in their team’s first ever top flight season. We only have to wait and see the tricks he is going to pull off this weekend. DJ Campbell has had a fine season as well with 13 goals including some important match winners and he is the top goal scorer for Blackpool. He has described this match as a ‘Do or Die’ situation for them and that ‘The mood is still brilliant in the dressing room’.

Squads

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Lindegaard, Rafael, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Gill, Smalling, Evans, Brown, Evra, Obertan, Bebe, Valencia, Scholes, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Park, Giggs, Nani, Tunnicliffe, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Hernandez, King.

Blackpool: Gilks, Eardley, Cathcart, Crainey, Evatt, Southern, Adam, Varney, Taylor-Fletcher, Campbell, Grandin, Baptiste, Sylvestre, Puncheon, Vaughan, Phillips, Harewood, Ormerod, Beattie, Reid, Kornilenko, Rachubka, Kingson.

Prediction

Manchester United could be too tough for Blackpool at Old Trafford and especially given the fact that united have dropped just 2 points at home throughout this season . Key players will be rested and the youngsters will be given a chance and they would want to seize this opportunity to impress Ferguson .The pressure will be totally on the Tangerines as they fight for survival while United just have to hold them off for 90 minutes so that they can take their coveted prize home as soon as possible and start prepping for the final test ” The Champions League Final”.

My prediction will be a 2-1 win for Manchester United but do drop in yours in the comments.