vs
Manchester United v Blackburn
Mark Hughes comes up against his old boss Sir Alex Ferguson as
Blackburn Rovers look to put a dent in Manchester United's title
bid.
United have lost only one Barclays Premiership match against
Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford in 12 meetings, although that
defeat came last season as Blackburn enjoyed a memorable double
over their north-west neighbours, which included a David Bentley
hat-trick at Ewood Park. United, though, are in ominous form as
they chase the title, scoring 17 goals on their way to winning six
straight league games.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, with 28 Barclays Premiership
goals between them this campaign, are the obvious danger-men in a
fixture that could potentially be a preview of the first FA Cup
final at Wembley.
Blackburn winger David Bentley is suspended for the match after his
red card at West Ham two weeks ago. Aaron Mokoena is available
following his one-game ban and Ryan Nelsen is set to return after
missing the Hammers game with a hamstring injury.
Manchester
United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Brown,
Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs,
Richardson, Rooney, Saha, Solskjaer, Smith, Dong.
Blackburn :
Friedel, Emerton, Henchoz, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Samba, Warnock,
Berner, Mokoena, Tugay, Dunn, Pedersen, McCarthy, Roberts, Nonda,
Brown, Derbyshire, Gallagher.
REFEREE
Chris Foy (St Helens, Merseyside)
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Manchester United 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
24 September 2005 - Ref: Phil Dowd
Man United scorer: Van Nistelrooy 67
Blackburn scorers: Pedersen 33, 81
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Manchester United
11 November 2006 - Ref: Mike Riley
Man Utd scorer: Saha 64
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
at Man Utd only
League: Man United 23 wins, Blackburn 9, Draws 11
Prem: Man United 8 wins, Blackburn 1, Draws 3
