EPL ~ West Ham v Manchester United ~ Dec 29
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Vs
West Ham v Manchester United
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Channel 22 - 11:00pm - (Live)
West Ham : Green, Neill, Spector, Upson, McCartney, Solano, Noble, Parker, Mullins, Ljungberg, Cole, Camara, Ashton, Wright, Ferdinand, Boa Morte, Pantsil.
Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Evra, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Eagles, Rooney, Saha, Simpson, Park, Tevez.
Rio vs Anton
Brother vs Brother
This match will be difficult, So united will need to bring back Hargreaves, Evra, Anderson and Tevez... -
tevez to face his old club
will he receive strong reactions from the home fans? -
Why Christmas period so busy?
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They will cheer for him louder than any WH players will get...Originally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:tevez to face his old club
will he receive strong reactions from the home fans?
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Since Tevez is on loan from West Ham.
I dont think he's available for the match? -
An Interesting Note:
United were beaten home and away by West Ham last year despite the Hammers spending most of the season in the relegation zone and Ferguson has suffered several disappointments against them in the past.
West Ham is like a jinx team to United... So united have to be careful here...
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duh.. since when was tevez on loan?? i thought we were cleared to sign him on already amid al the hoo-haa with the owners..?Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:Since Tevez is on loan from West Ham.
I dont think he's available for the match? -
Tevez is indeed still on loan but not from the Hammers, from Kia Joorabchian's company MSI. He is on a two-year loan deal at United with them having an option to make it permanent before the 2 yrs are up.
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ar..ic
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we need to get full 3 points from this match...tis peak festive fixture will be our make or break towards retaining our league title...
the good news is, the other 3 are not having an easy fixtures for themselves as well, hope they drop some points..
Man City v Liverpool
Chelsea v Newcastle
Everton v Arsenal -
United need to take a few points lead cos i feel their late March and April fixtures will be very difficult especially when during that period, the pressure really start to take effect on teams... From how i see it, united will need at least a 5 points lead going into that period or all could be undone in April...
March
1 Fulham (A)
8 Bolton (H)
15 Derby (A)
22 Liverpool (H)
29 Aston Villa (H)
April
5 Middlesbrough (A)
12 Arsenal (H)
19 Blackburn (A)
26 Chelsea (A)
May
3 West Ham (H)
11 Wigan (A) -
Now that we've came back from behind, crawled our points back to the top, now it's the time to keep it going. Keep it going past the new year, we've halfway there to the title.same fashion as we won it in the past few seasons, cept for last season of course.
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Fergie To Rotate Against Hammers
Ferguson left Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Anderson out of the squad that thrashed Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light on Boxing Day.
The Premier League leaders take on Birmingham City on New Year's Day less than 72 hours after playing the Hammers at Upton Park and the veteran United manager is ready to use all the resources at his disposal.
“We're taking a big squad down for the game with West Ham” Fergie admitted.
“We're taking 20 players down, keeping them all together because you never know at this time of year.
“Utilising the squad is important. We freshened up the other day by leaving Ryan, Tevez and Anderson out.
“Tomorrow we'll make some more changes. Hopefully that brings the right freshness and gets us the right result. The confidence as a team is good; the form is good so we're going into the game in the right frame of mind.
“It's never easy at West Ham, of course. They beat us twice last season so we expect a tough game but, in the form we're in, we're looking forward to it” he added.
Ferguson also confirmed that keeper Edwin van der Sar will return to training at the weekend after a groin problem and could be fit to face Birmingham. -
Big Match Facts
Manchester United visit West Ham looking for the victory that will guarantee they go out of 2007 where they came in, on top of the Barclays Premier League table.
But it's just over a year since United last visited Upton Park, when the Hammers pulled off their first ever home Premier League victory over the Red Devils on Alan Curbishley's debut in charge.
Sir Alex Ferguson will not want a repeat of that just two days before his 66th birthday.
Manchester United have won twice as many league games as West Ham this term (14 to seven), including the last five; the Hammers are striving for a first win in five on home soil.
Over Christmas, the champions won 2-1 home to Everton and 0-4 away to Sunderland; the Hammers won 1-2 at Middlesbrough and were held to a 1-1 draw by Reading at Upton Park.
West Ham have conceded more Premier League goals to Manchester United (49), than to any other club in the Premier League. That's despite doing the double with two 1-0 victories last season.
Club Form
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 1st
Lowest could fall: 2nd
1. Won 19 of 23 in all competitions, and lost one of 17.
2. The only club to have won 14 Premier League matches this season; but lost twice as many league games as Arsenal (two to the Gunners' one).
3. Boasting the tightest defence in the highest league; just nine goals shipped in 19 outings, at one every 190 minutes (three hours nine minutes) of Premier League football played on average.
4. Won 14 of the last 16 Premier League matches, losing just one of the 16.
5. Kept clean sheets in 10 and failed to score in one of the last 16 league outings; the blank being the 1-0 loss, away to Bolton on 24 November.
6. Not lost in any league game this term in which they have scored; won 14 and drawn two of 16.
7. Scored first in an unequalled 15 Premier League matches; won 13 and drawn two.
8. Conceded only two goals in the last 15 minutes of Premier League matches this term; only Arsenal and Liverpool can match that.
9. Beaten Everton, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Sunderland on their league travels, and been beaten by Manchester City and Bolton on the road.
10. The New Year's Day fixture is home to Birmingham.
Key-Player Notes
Cristiano Ronaldo is Manchester United's top scorer with 17 goals.
Ronaldo is also their leading Premier League marksman with 12, and leads the race for the Barclays Golden Boot.
Ronaldo, who has scored three times in two games and is the only United scorer in double figures, is a hat-trick shy of 50 Premier League goals - all for Manchester United.
If selected:-
Darren Fletcher will be making his 100th Premier League appearance - all for the Red Devils.
Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Carlos Tevez will all be facing their former club; the first two started their professional careers with the Hammers.
If on the field from the outset:-
Louis Saha will be making his 50th Premier League start for Manchester United.
Last Season's Corresponding Game
West Ham United 1-0 Manchester United
17 December 2006 - Ref: Phil Dowd
West Ham scorer: Reo-Coker 75 -
Wonder who he'll play
Scully rotate until like the last game of last season liddat sia -
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves is expected to start after missing two games with a back injury.
Striker Carlos Tevez will start against his former club but keeper Edwin van der Sar (groin) is still out.
West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand is pushing for a starting place after two months out with a hamstring injury.
Striker Carlton Cole (illness) should be fit, while Julien Faubert, Matthew Etherington and Lee Bowyer are back in training but not yet available.
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West Ham : Green, Neill, McCartney, Ferdinand, Upson, Ljungberg, Parker, Mullins, Solano, Ashton, Cole, Wright, Pantsil, Noble, Reid, Spector, Dailly, Camara.
Man Utd : Kuszczak, Heaton, Brown, Simpson, Ferdinand, Vidic, Pique, Evra, O'Shea, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Anderson, Carrick, Hargreaves, Nani, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Tevez, Saha.
REFEREE
Mike Dean (Wirral)
West Ham boss Alan Cubishley:
"The pressure is on Man Utd as they have to win it. "The fans should be looking forward to seeing some great players, getting behind us and hoping we can produce the same result as we did last year when we beat them."
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson on Wayne Rooney:
"Strikers do go on little runs. "Against Sunderland it was his first goal for six games, but his goals have come in waves. "When he got his recent injury, he was out for nearly a month and since then, he has been gradually getting towards what we saw of him against Sunderland." -
i hope park makes it to the bench.. and come on out in the second half if things are not going the way we expect it to be..
west ham is our boogie team...
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Park? But i don't think he is an impact player... Giggs will probably be playing tonight given that he was rested for the last match... Nani is better as an impact player... Park is just for running around the park when they are leading...Originally posted by 4getmenot:i hope park makes it to the bench.. and come on out in the second half if things are not going the way we expect it to be..
west ham is our boogie team... 
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Boss: Tevez deserves respect
Sir Alex Ferguson is unsure what reaction Carlos Tevez can expect to receive on his return to West Ham on Saturday, but the United manager feels the Argentine striker should command gratitude at Upton Park.
Tevez's goalscoring was an integral part of the Hammers' against-all-odds Premier League survival last term, and Sir Alex is hopeful that the Upton Park faithful recognise his services.
"When players leave a club and go back, they don't always get the reception they deserve when they go back," he told his pre-match press conference. "We've got Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick who'll probably be involved tomorrow too, and I don't think they get a great reception going back there. It'll be interesting to see.
"Deep down they must be thankful to him, because I think he kept them up last year, his performances were fantastic for them. There must be a grudging admiration for what he achieved at West Ham in a short period."
Tevez is set to start against his former side after being rested for the Reds' convincing 4-0 victory over Sunderland on Boxing Day.
"We gave him a break on Saturday, it was a bit of luck for us that we didn't have to use him in the game," said Sir Alex. "He got a couple of bad knocks against Liverpool that he was carrying, just bruises really on his ankle and his knee, but after the Everton game we decided to freshen him up and I'm sure he'll be ready for tomorrow." -
i predict a 2-2 scoreline
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Think most probably it'd be.....
kuz
brown rio vida evra
ronny hargo anderson giggsy
rooney tevez -
Sir Alex will serve his 3 match ban from the touchline from this match onwards..
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Tevez: I won't celebrate if I score today
The Argentine, who joined United on loan in the summer after ending his West Ham contract, told Sportsmail: "I am a Manchester United player and my heart is here, but I will never forget the treatment from the West Ham fans and I will not celebrate if I score. How can I?
"This is a strange feeling for me, going back to my old club. It is the first time in my career that this has happened and I am not sure how I will feel. Manchester United and their fans have made me feel at home. I want to stay for a long time, possibly for the rest of my career, but I will always have a place for West Ham and their supporters in my heart." -
Really meh? I thought he only need to serve 2 matches? And the first was against Everton already?Originally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:Sir Alex will serve his 3 match ban from the touchline from this match onwards.. -
technology allows one to communicate farOriginally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:Sir Alex will serve his 3 match ban from the touchline from this match onwards..