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Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester United: Preview

Morning one and all. Today we face Dynamo Kyiv, the Ukranian Champions, in our Champions’ League group fixture. Must be exciting, eh?

It must be exciting, wouldn’t it? All United games have to be exciting. Something about it being the United way and all that. But then we are wasting a little time talking about things that are old hat and not the thing at hand. So let’s get down to talking about the game, shall we?

Today’s match preview may not be too long. If it were, I wouldn’t have much new to say, because I previewed a fair bit on yesterday’s post. (Read it if you haven’t) Especially read the comment thread for that post. Some insightful discussion on Fergie’s tactics are in full view. You are, of course, free to contribute there.

While we wondered about what tactic would suit us in the game against Kyiv, the manager admitted that he was faced with a tactical dilemma; to play the Tevez-Rooney combo, or go with a three-man midfield, thus sacrificing one of the strikers.

To be honest, none of us can really point out to our best starting XI, unlike last season where, the XI players picked themselves. But if SAF decided to go with a 4-5-1/4-3-3, we could have Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson at the centre and have Ronaldo, Rooney and Nani in attack. Alternatively, we could also play Tevez on the left, Ron on the right and Rooney in the middle; Tevez had played quite well for West Ham on the left last season. So, in all honesty, it is worth a try. Of course, the boss could revert to type and play Giggs on the left and Ronaldo on the right.

A 4-4-2 against Kyiv looks unlikely, although it will be welcome. But the best news, however, is that Vidic will play. This should allow the boss to play Anderson, as he would feel more secure at the back. Fletcher would do a decent job of mopping up in the midfield, breaking up play, with his industriousness, and hopefully, we can see Anderson do well today in a much freer role.

And I take this moment to digress ever so slightly by talking a bit about our young loanees. While in reserve level football, most of us might know that Danny Wellbeck scored 4 goals in a 7-0 rout of West Bromwich, it is also nice to hear that Frazier Campbell marked his debut for Championship side Hull with a brace. From reports, it seems his pace was too much to handle for the hapless defenders of Barnsley. Hmm… quite interesting, indeed.

Meanwhile, Darron Gibson played in a 0-0 draw for Wolves in his first game. Lee Martin scored on his debut for Plymouth. We will try to keep a watch on these players and bring updates, as and when we learn about them.

Back to the match of the day, though, it is time to stick our neck and predict the result (and scoreline) for the day. So here it is…

Prediction: 2-0 to United (Rooney, Ronaldo to score.)

Your comments, before and during the match, welcome.