One of the fiercest
rivalries takes place on Saunday, where
table toppers Man Utd face Liverpool at
Old Trafford. This fixture comes along
at a great time for both sets of fans,
as both camps are playing some excellent
football and will feel in with a chance.
Man Utd took a huge step to securing
another Premiership title after they
overcame a plucky Bolton side 2-0 on
Wednesday night, which gave the Red
Devils a three point lead over second
placed Arsenal, with all teams at the
top having played 30 games. It was a
good win for United, who once again
relied upon the goals of Christiano
Ronaldo to overcome Bolton and ease the
pain of a Manchester derby loss in their
previous game at Old Trafford.
Of
course, that game against City did
appear to be a blip, as Utd's home form
is formidable, with 13 wins from 15
games played and they have only conceded
five goals at home all season. Stats
will probably mean nothing coming into
this game, as Liverpool themselves will
come into this encounter with increased
optimism than previous years, mainly due
to the fact that they appear to have
found a a scoring combination up front,
the Gerrard-Torres partnership well on its
way to emulating the Barnes-Beardsley
partnership which brought them so much
success during the late 80's.
 The
men from Anfield will be well prepared going
into this tie, having won five games on the
bounce in the Premiership, and the Kop can
once again sing the praises of a 20 goal a
season striker in Fernando Torres. The
Spaniard will be looking to increase his
tally past the 20 mark, and he is well on
the way hitting five in his last three
Premiership starts. Of course, he is still
behind Christiano Ronaldo on 22 goals, but
it has been a while since the Anfield
faithful have been treated to such a
prolific striker, while Utd have been spoilt
by recent stars such as Van Nistelrooy.
The bookmakers have Man Utd as even money
favourites, while the draw is 9/4 and the
Liverpool away win is 3/1.
First and foremost this should be a high
quality game, with two of the hottest teams
in Europe playing, but I have to say that it
has been a long time since Liverpool had
such a good chance of beating Utd. The only
thing which would worry me from a Utd point
of view is the over reliance of Ronaldo to
produce the goods.
For me Wayne Rooney is
having a disappointing season, and he lies
way behind in the top goalscorers with only
eight Premiership goals all season, which
for me is a disappointment. When we consider
that Liverpool's Steven Gerrard has scored
ten goals from midfield, Liverpool start to
look a little more dangerous going forward.
Apart from Ronaldo, the United midfield is
in a period of transition, with Giggs and
Scholes coming towards the end of their
careers and new blood in Nani and Anderson
being given their chance.
This is where I
feel Liverpool just hold the edge over Utd
this time around, with Alonso, Gerrard and
the pace of Babel just having a little more
cutting edge than Utd.
Bet365 offer a
free £100
bet on this game and with a half
ball start of +0.5 I'm prepared to go with
Liverpool today @ 10/11.
The Gerrard-Torres
partnership is the hottest pairing in Europe
at the moment, and while we definitely cant
rule out the one man showman Christiano
Ronaldo, I feel Liverpool can finally break
their Old Trafford jinx and take a point
from the would-be Champions.
Liverpool to snatch a 1-1 draw, which will make our bet a winner.
© Free-Bets.uk 2008
| 
Fancy a job at
www.free-bets.co.uk? We have a
range of opportunities for those of
you who know your stuff! If you
think you can do the job and write
betting analysis on a particular
sport feel free
to get in touch! More info
del.icio.us
Digg
Google
reddit
