Carling Cup Preview: Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers

By: Taylor Rockwell | December 3rd, 2008

Carling Cup Quarterfinals
Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers @ Old Trafford
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 – KO @ 20:00 GMT (3:00 EST)

Recent Carling Cup Results:

United:
United 3 – Boro 1 @ Old Trafford on September 23, 2008
United 1 – QPR 0 @ Old Trafford on November 11, 2008

Blackburn:
Blackburn 4 – Grimsby 0 @ Ewood Park on August 27, 2008
Blackburn 1 – Everton 0 @ Ewood Park on September 24, 2008
Blackburn 2 – Sunderland 1 @ The Stadium of Light on November 12, 2008

A Few Points to Ponder Prior to Kickoff

I don’t entirely know what to expect from this Blackburn squad. Keith Andrews is ineligible, and they will be without Vince Grella (calf), David Dunn (Achilles) and Steven Reid (knee). My guess is that we will see a fairly “strong” Blackburn side, with Rovers Manager Paul Ince not wanting to get embarrassed by his old club on his old pitch. So, that probably spells out a physical match, with Roque Santa Cruz counterattacking whenever possible.

In his United Review column, Sir Alex wrote, “Although we are now into the quarter-finals, I intend to stay with the young ones who have got us this far… Players like Jonny Evans, Rafael, Darron Gibson, Rodrigo Possebon and Danny Welbeck [will all be involved]… But I also have Paul Scholes in mind. He is on the verge of playing again following his knee injury and operation. He is training well and is chomping at the bit to get started. So a place on the bench with perhaps a few minutes’ pitch time could be good for him. We’ll see how things go.” Looks like we’ll finally see the Ginger Prince back in the squad tonight. I bet Gibson is far less enthused than I am.

Ben Foster will most likely start between the sticks for United. Fergie will no doubt use this opportunity to evaluate the oft-injured netminder in an effort to truly determine who is #2. Said Foster, “I have got to take any chance that I am given. United are in a lot of competitions, like the Carling Cup, which gives the manager a chance to make changes. I just have to get my head down and keep doing the same things in training. Then if my chance comes along, hopefully I will be ready to take it.” I remain convinced that Ben Foster (if he can remain healthy) is the keeper of the future for both United and England. He seems an incredible talent, most notably because of his ability to keep a level head regardless of his opposition (unlike this man, or this man, or this man)

Despite only having slept for three hours, it being a cold, dreary day outside, and I had nine hours of work to look forward to, I nevertheless woke up with a sense of nervous excitement. Remember when you were really little and you had a crush on someone, and every time you saw them you would get all nervous/excited/flop-sweaty? Well that’s how I feel every time there’s a match where Manucho could possibly get minutes. I can feel my heart beating faster with every second that brings me closer to seeing him step on the field.

I feel it may be a little too convenient that, in a match where Fergie has publicly stated that he wants to blood the youngsters, the reserve team’s match against Sunderland gets called off. It’s probably just a weird, stars-aligning moment, but my guess is that we’ll be seeing a fair amount of youth in today’s side. Speaking of which, where in the hell is Fabio da Silva? I know he underwent shoulder surgery several months ago, but has anyone heard anything about him recently? Did they just combine him with Rafael to make one very talented player? Seems a distinct possibility given the youth’s complete and utter vanishing act.

Taylor’s Lineup:
Ben Foster, Rafael da Silva, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, John O’Shea, Nani, Anderson, Possebon, Giggs, Tevez, Welbeck.
Subs: Manucho, Neville, Scholes, Fletcher/Park, Rooney, Gibson

Prediction: 2-0 United (Tevez with one and… wait for it… Anderson to get his first United goal). Who knows? Stranger things have happened. Come on you Reds!