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Thierry Henry was rested on Wednedsay
to try to get him fit for tomorrow's trip to Old Trafford, but it appears
that his foot injury is still troubling him and he's rated at only
10-15 percent for the game. Added to that, Robin van Persie had
to come off with a hip injury on Wednesday (which explains why he
was subbed despite being our main goal threat for 70 minutes) and
his chances of facing Man Utd are no better.
At least Kolo Toure, who came off very early against Hamburg,
is reckoned to be ok. So the defence should be unchanged. Up
front, assuming that Thierry and Robin are out, we'll have the
options of Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott, and Jeremie Aliadiere.
Not options which will strike fear in their hearts, methinks, although
they're all due for and capable of coming good. Let's not forget
also that Julio Baptista can play up front, or that a 4-5-1 formation
has served us well recently with many midfielder providing a goal threat.
Man Utd have started with 4 wins from 4, but not against strong
opposition. Yeah, I know, we've got only 2 points from 3 against similar
opposition - I'm just trying to say that their start doesn't
necessarily mean they're playing out of their skin. As it happens,
word is that Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown haven't looked a
particularly solid pairing in defence.
United will be without Ryan Giggs (painful hamstering) and Ji Sung Park
(ankle op), but the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo,
Scholes and Saha will always be dangerous. If we can win the midfield
battle against their enforcer-free centre we should be in with a good shout of
giving the season a much needed kick-start. 4-5-1's looking good to
me even if everyone's fit. Maybe being forced into it by injuries is just what we need.
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