United After Perfect Finish

Manchester United will be in party mood as Blackpool arrive at Old Trafford looking for a win to stay up.

United wrapped up the Premier League title thanks to a Wayne Rooney penalty away at Blackburn Rovers which secured a 1-1 draw. There will be a number of changes to the team for this game but Sir Alex Ferguson has already promised that his club will be fair to all those involved in the relegation battle.

Edwin Van Der Sar should return in goal as this will be his last ever Premier League football match. The Dutchman is retiring after the Champions League final at the end of May which means this will be his last chance to play in the league in front of the Old Trafford crowd.

John O’Shea or one of the Da Silva brothers will play at right back with a combination of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans in the middle of the defence. Patrice Evra is likely to return on the left of the defence after a small period out with injury.

Two from Antonio Valencia, Nani and Park Ji-Sung will play down the wings of the team although Portuguese winger Bebe may also feature in the game. Paul Scholes is likely to partner Michael Carrick in the middle as Ryan Giggs is due a rest and Darren Fletcher is not quite fit enough to feature.

The attack will take care of itself and Dimitar Berbatov will come back into the side. The Bulgarian is joint top scorer in the Premier League with Carlos Tevez and Ferguson will be mindful that the forward will want this little accolade over one of his former teammates. Wayne Rooney could make way for Berbatov as Javier Hernandez continues an extended run in the side.

On the injury front there could be late fitness tests for Rafael Da Silva and Darren Fletcher if Ferguson is thinking about using them for this game. Rio Ferdinand seems to have shaken off a little niggle but Owen Hargreaves will play no part at all in this game.

There will be no worry over suspensions for this game as they will not affect the Champions League final. Any yellow cards picked up will not carry over into next season which means United can afford to be a little more aggressive in making sure that Blackpool don’t ruin the party spirit.

Be under no illusions that United will be trying their very hardest to win this match. They have one player who will never play for the club in the league again and they will want him to enjoy the perfect send off. Blackpool will raise their game but United should have enough quality to prevail.