United’s crunch game

Friday, 11/03/2011

by Amit Mistry, Shoot's Manchester United blogger

After incurring two defeats against two of their major rivals in recent weeks, can Manchester United recover from this when they face Arsenal this weekend in the FA Cup?

The two league defeats show that United’s defence is still fragile without Ferdinand and Vidic.

Also the flanks are not as lethal without Valencia and Park. Nani has been doing his best, but the burden should not fall on him.

This shows that United are dependent on a few key players, but then that is the case with most teams. As seen with Chelsea this season, they struggled for form when they were without Essien and Lampard.

For neutral fans. the title race has become a lot more interesting now that the gap has closed and Arsenal have a shot in claiming the top spot. This may come down to the wire, it will probably be between the two teams.

Manchester City are not quite the  threat this season to be title contenders, whilst Tottenham and Chelsea have dropped too many points this season.

As for the FA Cup, Sir Alex is already fearing a backlash from Wenger’s men as they suffered a bitter knockout from the Champions League by Barcelona. Both teams also have injuries to key players, but both teams are hungry for silverware.

The key player for Arsenal this season is Samir Nasri. If he can be nullified, then Arsenal’s chances of causing United problems will be reduced.

Ferguson may include Antonia Valencia in the cup clash against the Gunners, but we cannot expect a great performance or a huge impact as he does need to be eased back into action after a horrific injury.

Key performances will be required from Rooney, Nani, Fletcher and co in order for United to turn their season back to a winning one.

A win this weekend will galvanise the team, like that key comeback against Aston Villa when Macheda scored that pivotal winning goal.

All eyes will be on this game, as this could make or break the season for either side.

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