Manchester United were denied Premier league action on Saturday when their match at Blackpool was postponed due to the arctic blast but they can make up for lost time with midweek Champions League success.
Despite not taking to the pitch this weekend, United’s top flight prospects were given a boost when nearest rivals Chelsea dropped points at home to Everton and the Red Devils will have a spring in their step when they host Valencia on Tuesday night.
With both having already guaranteed progress into the last 16, it is top spot that is up for grabs at Old Trafford and the home side need just a point to secure first place. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men rarely, if ever, settle for a draw in front of their home fans however and I rate them excellent value to round off the group stages with a win.
As big as 1.73 in a number of places, United have lost just twice in their previous 50 Champions League home matches spanning a decade, to AC Milan and Besiktas, and there was a gulf in class between the pair when they met at the Mestalla earlier in the campaign.
Javier Hernandez, the Red Devils’ Mexican striker, proved the difference with the late winner in Spain and it should be noted that the Premier League club have yet to concede a goal in Europe this season.
Five games without being breached, admittedly in a fairly week section, takes some doing but Valencia possess enough attacking talent to cause the hosts problems and another clean sheet is certainly not a given for Edwin Van Der Sar, assuming the Dutch giant gets the nod in goal.
Having produced their best performance of the season when routing Blackburn 7-1 at Old Trafford, Sir Alex was not best pleased when a number of his fringe players failed to impress in Carling Cup defeat at West Ham and the Scottish boss will be eager to get back on track with Arsenal, next Monday night, looming large.
I expect a number of the United first team to return to action on Tuesday and with Valencia having triumphed just once in their previous six away games, and that a win at lowly UD Logrones in the Copa del Rey, an early goal for the hosts could open the floodgates with motivation lacking.
3pts Back Man Utd (vs. Valencia) @ 1.73 (various)