Premier League Preview: Birmingham City v Manchester United

Manchester United face a difficult away trip to Birmingham City following a 2-0 win against Sunderland.

United strolled to a win against Sunderland to keep themselves top of the Premier League table with games in hand on all of their rivals. The performance was impressive and Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping for more of the same in this game.

There seems very little reason for Ferguson to change the system after the team played so well. United played a 4-4-2 against Sunderland, which works because of the flexibility of Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney in attack. Both players can drop off from the front and into the midfield if necessary.

Paul Scholes may remain out of the side as he is struggling to reach a consistent level of match fitness. This will mean Anderson starting in the middle and continuing his good run of form. Ryan Giggs will most likely start from the bench owing to the lack of recovery time for this next match.

Ferguson doesn’t have to worry about any fresh serious injuries. Michael Owen is in a similar situation to Scholes while Owen Hargreaves and Antonio Valencia will play no part in the game. Rio Ferdinand is suspected of carrying a slight hamstring strain but he should be fine to play.

Park Ji-Sung has been playing very well and will continue his role down either flank of the team. Nani should feature on the other win as Giggs takes a place on the bench for a temporary and well earned rest. United are lucky in the respect that Rooney has played out on both the left and right during his United career. This means the manager can ask his striker to be more flexible if it’s absolutely necessary.

The match could be potentially tricky for United to navigate their way through owing to the loyal and passionate support that Birmingham enjoy. This can be enough to intimidate even the most experienced of sides and the Birmingham fans will be doing their utmost to give their side an advantage against the best current team in the country.

United’s record on the road against Birmingham City is relatively good. There is no reason why United shouldn’t be confident of a win. They are a best price of 8/15 with the draw at 31/10 and Birmingham a best price of 6/1.