| Manchester United continue their quest
to retain their Premiership crown with four tough league fixtures in
January, following a Cup outing to Villa Park. ManUtdWeb takes a quick look at the opponents who will take on United
in the first month of 2004, and how their seasons have gone so far.
January sees United facing identical Premiership fixtures to the
four games they opened the season, but with the venues obviously reversed.
Traditionally the New Year is the time United really go full throttle in the
Premiership race, but after such an excellent first-half to the season, Sir
Alex Ferguson's side will find it tough to have such success for the latter
nineteen games.
January 3rd - Aston Villa (Away) F.A Cup
United's Cup campaign kicks off on Saturday, in what is the clubs first
game of 2004. United have not lifted the famous trophy since the memorable
treble season of 1999, and if the Reds are to advance to the next stage this
year they will have to fight off a tough test from David O'Leary's Aston
Villa side. United last faced Villa in the Cup in January 2002, when the
Reds overturned Villa's two goal lead to win a memorable clash. The Villains
currently sit ? in the Premiership table, and despite a pick up in form
recently are still fearing relegation in a very tight league.
January 7th - Bolton Wanderers (Away)
United opened their season with a home fixture against Lancashire rivals
Bolton, and despite the emphatic 4-0 scoreline United were under pressure
for large spells of the game against Sam Allardyce's side. As we go into the
New Year the hardworking outfit sit 12th in the Premiership table, with
clear ambition to qualify for Europe this term, and they have already
secured an away win at Stamford Bridge and an impressive draw against
Arsenal so the visit to the Reebok Stadium will undoubtedly be tough for the
Champions. Jay-Jay Okocha has been Bolton's top man so far this season, with
his performances seeing the Nigerian star linked with a move to Old Trafford
earlier in the season.
January 10th - Newcastle United (Home)
With the disappointment of missing out on a place in the group stages of the
European Cup after a penalty shoot-out defeat in the qualifiers and the
shock early exit from the League Cup, the season is not looking good so far
for Sir Bobby Robson's Magpies. New Year celebrations won't be the most
enjoyable ever for fans of the Toon Army, who have accumulated only 26
points from the first part of the season, and despite sitting in 7th place
are only 8 points off an unthinkable place in the bottom three. However, the
majority of the pundits would expect Robson, with a squad packed full of
talent, to turn things around at St.James' Park so the Red Devils will have
to be alert to make sure Newcastle, who lost 2-1 in the same fixture earlier
in the season, don't start a fight back at Old Trafford.
January 17th - Wolverhampton Wanderers (Away)
Wolves, who really scared United in the fixture at Old Trafford before
eventually losing 1-0, will need to make history if they are to stay up as
so far every club to be bottom at Christmas has been relegated. However, the
Midlands club showed great fighting spirit in their last fixture of 2003
keeping their hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Leeds United at Molineux. They
also made history by overturning Leicester City's 3-0 half-time lead to win
4-3, so despite their poor start, and their search for a first win on the
road in the Premiership, they have shown they are a team with spirit and
their home form means United's visit to Wolverhampton to face Dave Jones'
side will be anything but a guaranteed three points.
January 31st - Southampton (Home)
In what is arguably the easier of the four January fixtures, mainly due to
home advantage, United will be desperate to inflict revenge on Southampton
who condemned the Red Devils to their first league defeat of the season at
the St.Mary's. Gordon Strachan has put together a side who know longer flirt
with relegation, but instead have real ambition to go on and be a major
force in the British game. There place as runners-up in the FA Cup last
season earned the Saints a place in the Uefa Cup and proved their ambition
to go and win silverware. The south-cost outfit lay 8th in the Premiership
as we go into the New Year, but a couple of victories could see them up
challenging for that fourth European Cup spot. However, in a league that is
proving extremely tight this year, a few consecutive defeats could see
Southampton slip down the league. On-form James Beattie will definitely be
one to watch when the Saints march to Old Trafford on the final day of
January.
ManUtdWeb will, of course, give full match previews
of each of these fixtures as well as reports, reaction and comment from each
of the games. Please note all of the above information is of the time of
writing, and will be correct up until the first January fixtures on the 7th,
when obviously league positions and points will alter.
Enjoy the games, and happy new year to you all. |
