Manchester United vs Blackpool : Preview

Come Sunday, Blackpool could become the only team to beat Manchester United (now officially the most successful club in top flight domestic English football with 19 league titles) at Old Trafford this season, thereby garnering 42 points (eclipsing the magic figure of 40, regarded by pundits as the threshold to avoid relegation) and yet after all that and despite having a gaffer in Ian Holloway vying for the Manager of the Year award, be relegated.

Can Captain Corageuos Charlie Adam keep Blackpool up?

2010-11 has, without a shadow of a doubt, produced one of the most keenly contested Premier League seasons and with what’s at stake on the last day of the season, a nerve-wracking climax is inevitable. If the penultimate week saw the culmination of a see-saw battle for the Premier League title with Manchester United doing it the hard way yet again with 1-1 draw at Ewood Park, then the last week promises even more drama as two of three teams doomed for the drop are yet to be decided and so are the places for the automatic Champions League qualification spot (to be contested between FA Cup champions Manchester City and yet-again-disappointing Arsenal) and the Europa League spot (which pits favourites Spurs opposite a resurgent Liverpool). As we turn our focus on the ManUtd-Blackpool tie, it’s well worth having a look at the bottom of the table and the fixtures that will decide which three of five teams will be playing Premier League football next season.

Key fixtures:

Manchester United vs Blackpool

Stoke city vs Wigan Athletic

Tottenham vs Birmingham

Wolves vs Blackburn

Wolves have the momentum heading into the final week on the back of consecutive 3-1 wins over West Brom and Sunderland respectively and would fancy their chances to save the drop as they entertain Blackburn Rovers. Steve Kean’s side may have earned a valuable point against the champions last time and boast of a superior goal difference but they would wary of their away form and would know a stalemate at the Molineux could spell doomsday for both clubs.

A Charles N’zogbia-inspired Wigan battled to overcome a two goal deficit to relegate West Ham and give themselves a fighting chance on the last day of the season. The Britannia stadium is one of the last places to expect a home team to show generosity but having tasted back-to-back defeats in a space of 4 days (FA Cup final on Saturday and Premier League on Tuesday) at the hands of Manchester City, the Potters might well have run out of gas ahead of this one.

Birmingham face an uphill task as Tottenham, having comprehensively beaten Liverpool at Anfield last week would look to seal the fifth spot at White Hart Lane.

With Birmingham most likely to take one of the two relegation spots, it would be imperative for Blackpool to at least get a point against United bearing in mind that even a victory may not be enough.

What works in favour of Blackpool?

Twice over the five previous seasons have United faced a team caught up in the relegation dogfight on the last day of the season, having already assured themselves of the title. In 2009, a very young looking United team beat Hull City and yet the Tigers managed to stay up thanks to results elsewhere. In 2007, West Ham United thanks to a Herculean effort from talisman, Carlos Tevez also managed to escape the drop thanks to a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford. In both those cases Sir Alex had rested key players for cup finals and in each of the two cases, United’s opponents were safe.

Sir Alex has confirmed that he will be picking a team keeping the Champions League Final against Barcelona on the May 28^th at Wembley in mind. This is what he had to say in wake of the season finale at Old Trafford:

“I have to juggle the balls and make sure I get the right mix and keep the right energies for Barcelona. There are players who need a game anyway. Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Anderson will all play. So will Berbatov, Evra and Van der Sar. We’ll do our fairest to make sure there’s no criticism of the club”. —-Sir Alex Ferguson

Blackpool front man, DJ Campbell wasn’t reading too much into United fielding a second-string side and he was quoted:

“It’s definitely going to be tough, they haven’t lost there all season so it’s going to be hard match no matter what team they put out, first team or second team, they’re all internationals and you saw what their second team did to Schalke”.—– DJ Campbell

Can Blackpool's top scorer DJ Campbell save the day for the Seasiders?

Blackpool ain’t no pushovers!

Despite their precarious position in the league table it would be a gross disrespect to primarily focus on what team Sir Alex selects ahead of this crucial clash. Blackpool have beaten Champions League quarter-finalists and Milans’ conquerors, Spurs and have done a double over Liverpool. Moreover they had Manchester United on the racks (read 2-0 up at half time) at Bloomfield Road earlier this season. That Blackpool have endeared themselves to many a neutral this season isn’t a coincidence. They play football the only way they know, they meet fire with fire. It’s not by luck of the draw that Ian Holloway was in the running for manager of the season or Captain Charlie Adam was shortlisted for PFA Player of the Year award. They played some scintillating attacking football at times and the likes of leading scorer, Dudley Campbell and inspirational skipper Charlie Adam will believe they can sour a party atmosphere at Old Trafford.

What’s in it for Manchester United?

Berbatov would want to silence his critics by clinching the Golden Boot

In terms of significance, no fixture would come close to a Champions League Final against Barcelona at Wembley but it’s not just pride which is at stake for the Champions. Victory could see them equal Chelsea’s record of 55 out of a possible 57 points from home matches that the Blues had managed under Jose Mourinho in 2004-05. Dimitar Berbatov has spent an awful lot of time warming the benches in recent matches, an opportunity that Citizen and Ex Red Carlos Tevez didn’t waste to notch his goal tally to 21 and now has a chance to pip the Bulgarian to the post for the Golden Boot. Although Sir Alex has said, he has the nucleus of the team in mind which would comprise the starting XI at Wembley there are certain places (and of course places on the bench) to play for. This might just be the chance for a Rafael Da Silva or a Darren Fletcher to make a good final impression.

Van der Sar would like to end on a victorious note

Last but not the least, this in all likelihood will be Edwin Van der Sar’s farewell match in the Premier League. Words are too little to estimate his contribution to United’s success over the past five years. The frantic speculation in the press with almost daily columns dedicated to potential replacements just goes to show what a void he will leave behind. It might also be swansong for the Reds legend Paul Scholes though he is yet to confirm or quash such speculation. Michael Owen may have been a Kop cult hero. He also has the distinction of being the last Englishman to have been bestowed the then European Player of the Year Award (2001) but a premiership medal is missing from his glittering cabinet. With the likes of Welbeck and Macheda looking set to rejoin the United fold, this might well be the striker’s last appearance for the Reds.

With the way this season has panned out, an anticlimax can well be ruled out. With the Champions looking to extend their dream run at home and a team that plays attacking football, fighting for survival, we have the perfect ingredients for a fiercely competitive, open game. So fasten your seat belts as the EPL 2010-11 goes through its last and most nerve-wracking pocket of ‘turbulent weather’.