Dwight Yorke previews Aston Villa versus Manchester United
The former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker sizes up the sides' strengths and weaknesses for the Carling Cup final
POLL: Time for the 'experts' to learn the law...
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28th Feb 2010
Live on MioTV Channel 61 @ 11 PM
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stupid singtel....leaves me no choice but to watch streaming on justin.tv....
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FORM GUIDE
Aston Villa
24 Feb: Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace (FA Cup)
21 Feb: Aston Villa 5-2 Burnley (Premier League)
14 Feb: Crystal Palace 2-2 Aston Villa (FA Cup)
10 Feb: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
6 Feb: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Manchester United
23 Feb: Manchester United 3-0 West Ham (Premier League)
20 Feb: Everton 3-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
16 Feb: Milan 2-3 Manchester United (Champions League)
10 Feb: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
6 Feb: Manchester United 5-0 Portsmouth (Premier League)
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa
Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov is likely to be fit for the final having recovered from a virus, although O'Neill will have a decision to make over the goalkeeper position.
No.2 Brad Guzan has featured in all of Villa's previous League Cup ties this term but his manager could be tempted to call upon the more experienced Brad Friedel at Wembley.
Emile Heskey and James Collins will both be desperate for a starting place having been rested against Crystal Palace in midweek.
Possible starting XI: Friedel; Warnock, Dunne, Collins, Cuellar; A.Young, Petrov, Milner, Downing; Agbonlahor, Carew.
Manchester United
The big news on the injury front for Sir Alex Ferguson is that Rio Ferdinand will definitely be unavailable with a back injury.
The club have confirmed that Brazilian star Anderson will be out for the rest of the season having suffered a cruciate knee ligament in the victory over West Ham United, while Ryan Giggs will also miss out with an arm problem.
Nani is another who won't feature for the Red Devils as he continues to serve a suspension following his red card against Villa in the Premier League meeting on February 10.
Possible starting XI: Foster; Evra, Vidic, Evans, Rafael; Park, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia; Berbatov, Rooney.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa - Ashley Young
With Rafael likely to start in the first major final of his professional career, Ashley Young should certainly fancy his ability to cause the Brazilian a few problems when attacking down the Villa left.
The United full-back has shown himself to be fairly susceptible in defensive situations and Young will undoubtedly look to exploit any weakness with his pace and dribbling ability.
Manchester United - Antonio Valencia
Wayne Rooney may be stealing all the headlines at present, and understandably so, but spare a thought for United's summer recruit from Wigan Athletic who has adapted to life at Old Trafford with relative ease since his big-money move to the Theatre of Dreams.
The Ecuadorian has gone from strength to strength since the minute he arrived at the club and having created goals against Milan, Everton and two against West Ham in recent times, he's certainly a man who is bang in form at the moment.
PREDICTION
It may surprise some to learn that United are yet to win a game at the new Wembley without the aid of a penalty shoot-out.
Ferguson's troops will be keen to sew up the game within 90 minutes after having failed to do so in their previous six attempts but with Villa enjoying such a decent run at present, this one becomes decidedly tricky to call.
United's experience in these sort of pressure-cooker situations may just give them the edge although it promises to be a really hard-fought encounter that could certainly go either way.
Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United -
Ashley Young and James Milner will be key if Aston Villa are to triumph at Wembley, according to Dwight Yorke.
Aston Villa
Strengths
Aston Villa do not have a talisman like Wayne Rooney but in Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Ashley Young they have three very good players who on their day can be a real handful. They have to be direct and confident in their play, show no fear in getting hold of the ball and driving at Manchester United's defence. If they do, then all three have the pace and skill to put United on the back foot and either have a shot on goal themselves or create a chance for someone else, such as Emile Heskey.
Weaknesses
There is not a lot of pace in the Villa defence and, if they get pulled out of position, they could end up leaving Brad Friedel – who I think has been one of the best goalkeepers in England over the past five years – badly exposed. United will look to pass the ball quickly in and around the Villa back four in order to open them up, so it is vital they keep their shape and keep close together. The midfield guys, like Stilian Petrov, have to help them out by dropping deep when United have the ball and cutting out the supply.
Manchester United
Strengths
Rooney. Simple as that. Without doubt he has proved he is the best player in the world over the past six to eight months and, if he plays at his best, United will almost certainly be too strong for Villa. You can see that he's playing with extreme confidence right now and understands the game better than ever. He is United's talisman and, if the team is struggling, he will go looking for the ball and make something happen. It's vital that Villa stop the supply to him and stop him getting possession in their final third.
Weaknesses
Losing Rio Ferdinand is a huge blow for United. He's had a difficult season in terms of injuries but is still an important player for the side. In his place Sir Alex Ferguson may select Wes Brown or Jonny Evans. They're both good players but both may be a little inexperienced in the really big games, especially Evans. He has shown great potential and is getting better but I'm sure Ferguson would like not to have played him as much as he has. Evans has also been off-form recently and Martin O'Neill will surely target him as a weakness in United's defence.
Prediction
I have got to sit on the fence because both sides mean so much to me. I do think it will be tight, though. United are in form but so too are Villa and they are a really well balanced side at the moment. Villa also showed in 1994 that they can beat United in these type of games [Villa beat United 3-1 in the League Cup final that year]. What is for sure is that this is a much more important game for Villa than it is for United. If United win, they won't have an open-top bus parade through Manchester whereas, if Villa win, that will happen in Birmingham."
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Possible starting Xls:
Aston Villa: Friedel, Warnock, Collins, Dunne, Cuellar, Petrov, Milner, Downing, A.Young, Agbonlahor, Heskey.
Man Utd: Foster, Neville, Vidic, Brown, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes, Park, Valencia, Rooney.
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mind if someone double check the time of the match?
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Prediction:
A Villa 0 Man U 1
Man U can defend it!!!
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Originally posted by Poignant:
mind if someone double check the time of the match?
11pm match starts. 10.30pm the preview. -
Originally posted by TIB657M:
11pm match starts. 10.30pm the preview.oh okay, thanks.
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http://cabby.sgforums.com/posts/search?q=mickey+mouse+cup&commit=Go&type=posts
Saw some remarks from MU fans about Liverpool winning such smaller cups ......
That was history la
Times has changed .
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Carling Cup Finalist .....
I really never expect MU to go all out .
Time has changed .
They really need gate receipts .
Those were the days they can pick and chose what Cup important , what cup less important .
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My pick on Villa ......
Underdogs ......
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1-1
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lol Dunne kelong... give Owen a chance to score...
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Haiz....final score ManU will win via diving or Ref wins it fr them!
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how's this match? exciting anot?
i watching liverpool's game
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anywhere else to watch?
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Rooney up liao~
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looks like a exciting match on gamecast soccernet...rooney on for injured owen...
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owen pulled his hamstring. what a disappointment for him to leave like that, esp when he scored the equaliser.
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Vidic dirty! Block Ashely Young to close down Kusheff
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Originally posted by Poignant:
how's this match? exciting anot?
i watching liverpool's game
Jialat ah. a lot of diving.... by ManU players!
Just now Refs just help ManU wif equiliser! now 1-1
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Originally posted by R3SsH|n:
anywhere else to watch?
try this dude
find one that suits you
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Originally posted by innosaint:
Haiz....final score ManU will win via diving or Ref wins it fr them!
this fellow and that divingunited are chelsea fans right? chelsea will get kicked out of CL by Mourinho Inter in the return leg. as for winning the league title, no cole, no cech, no essien and with the JT scandal, see how chelsea can win the BPL title.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
this fellow and that divingunited are chelsea fans right? chelsea will get kicked out of CL by Mourinho Inter in the return leg. as for winning the league title, no cole, no cech, no essien and with the JT scandal, see how chelsea can win the BPL title.
lol, chill luh friend