The Premiership season has finally kicked off and the opening day of the season provided some quality football. The first fixture of the new campaign between Spurs and City ended in a draw but there could have been goals from both sides. It is very early days but the early signs would suggest that City won’t be in the hunt for the title.
United have to wait until Monday to kick off their season as the excitement grows. As the pre-season progressed, I grew more and more confident about our prospects for the coming season. There seems to be a good atmosphere in the squad and there is strength in depth in almost every position.
The Community Shield was hugely encouraging. It may be a glorified pre-season friendly as Scholesy said but it was very competitive nonetheless. There were many positives to take with a number of players looking hungry and sharp. There is a nice mix and balance to our forwards and competition for places will be fierce. I’m very excited by our wingers and genuinely think big things about to come from Nani and Valencia.
It will be really interesting to see the starting 11 Fergie goes opts for the Newcastle match. You could pick most of it fairly comfortably but there are a couple of positions which are not nailed down. One of these positions is the strike partner for Rooney. It may well be that Berba is given a chance to play alongside him for the opening encounter although Fergie remains seriously unconvinced about this partnership.
If Berbatov does start, he needs to produce. There are signs pre-season of the Bulgarian finding some form and if he can get off to a flyer, he could be huge for us. If not, his chances will become limited as there is no shortage of alternatives.
It is likely that Fergie will rotate his strikers, and indeed the side, pretty regularly throughout the season. Over the first month of the season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few of the strikers getting starting roles. I would love to see Hernandez get a run on Monday and grab a goal. The Mexican could be something really special.
You would think Fletcher will start in midfield, probably alongside Scholes with Nani and Valencia on the flanks. The defence will probably be much the same as the Community Shield with the addition of Evra.
It’s a game we should and will win. Newcastle won’t be pushovers this season and have some very decent players but we will have too much for them. I envsage goals in this one and see us doing some damage out wide. If we get an early goal, it could be a rout. We won’t want a repeat of this fixture on the opening day of the season two years ago where we drew but I don’t see it happening.
We will have to be wary of Carroll up front as he can be a handful. He is good in the air and I hope it is Vidic that picks him up. I would love to see Vidic smash him early to put him in his place. Nolan could be a threat from the middle and along with Barton, there will be a battle in the middle of the park. If Scholes starts, expect him to be booked!
We will be doing a preview and prediction for all United games so feel free to let us know your thoughts and predictions. Keep track of how our predictions are doing!
United v Newcastle Prediction: 4-1
