Manchester United 4-1 Blackburn

[Scholes18]

v
Barclays Premiership | Sat, 31 Mar 07, 15:00 | Old Trafford

2-1 to United, Scholes and Saha with the goals.

[Trim]

Beware of McCarthy!

[dukeofdavinci]

a very lonely 2 weeks this has been.

back to bussiness finally this weekend.paul will be back as saha and ole.just a matter of who will be 100% match fit.

another very physical side and will be no pushovers.

[red pisces]

thank god these internationals are nearly over, back to the good stuff of the prem!

[dukeofdavinci]

Neville still three weeks away

Gary Neville faces a further three weeks on the sidelines as he continues his recovery from ankle ligament damage.

The Reds' skipper hobbled off after just ten minutes of United's Premiership victory over Bolton two weeks ago.

He was expected to be back in time for the trip to Portsmouth on Easter Saturday, but Sir Alex Ferguson has since confirmed that Neville will be out for a while longer yet.

"The swelling has only just gone down on his ankle so the injury was maybe a bit worse than we thought in terms of the swelling," the boss told Manchester United Radio.

"But he's been doing some good work in the gym and I expect him to be back in the first team in three weeks time."

There was, however, some better news on the injury front with Edwin van der Sar and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both fit to return against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ankle victim Darren Fletcher is also on the mend and is likely to be in action within two weeks.

"Edwin and Ole are both fit and their experience will be vital for us during this last period of the season," insisted Sir Alex. "Darren Fletcher has been training very well. He's moved on to football training now having regained full fitness which is terrific.

"The original prognosis wasn't great but he's doing very well now and we expect him to be back in two weeks."

well as expected gaz will be out longer,ole and vds return hoping the same for saha and evra.

Saha may have to wait

Saturday's Premiership clash against Blackburn Rovers may have come too soon for Louis Saha.

The Reds' striker has not played since the beginning of March after suffering a hamstring strain in training in the build-up to the Champions League clash with Lille.

Although the Frenchman is nearing full fitness, Sir Alex Ferguson admits he remains a doubt for the Old Trafford clash with Mark Hughes' men.

"Both Louis Saha and Patrice Evra have both been doing some running but whether or not they'll be fit for Saturday is questionable," revealed the boss.

"Nevertheless, they're near to joining the main group."

The Reds will have Paul Scholes back from suspensions, while Edwin van der Sar and ole Gunnar Solskjaer after fit again after recovering from calf and knee injuries respectively.

well the game came too soon for saha!!!wth ole fit again,saha can focus on getting fit but evra is a must!!

[russe||]

Is this the bit where we moan about our injury problems? Our captain is going to be out for a total of about 6 weeks after all.

I don't know about Evra being 'a must' Heinze seems more suited to dealing with Blackburn's 'physical' style.

Disappointed that Saha won't be back but Scholes is back .

[dukeofdavinci]

Disappointed that Saha won't be back but Scholes is back

some pluses and some minuses.feared the worst whn one by one our player were injured but our great detrmination and squad proved they can be at their best come what ever situation


updated news*

Saha may have to wait

Saturday's Premiership clash against Blackburn Rovers may come too soon for Louis Saha, who is nearing full recovery from a hamstring strain.

The Reds' striker hasn't played since the start of March and Sir Alex Ferguson admits he remains a doubt for the Old Trafford clash with Mark Hughes' men.

"Both Louis and Patrice Evra have both been doing some running but whether or not they'll be fit for Saturday is questionable," the boss told Manchester United Radio on Thursday.

"Louis has trained well but I have to wait and consider whether I include him [against Blackburn] or wait for the Roma or Portsmouth games."

The Reds are boosted by Paul Scholes' return from suspension, while Edwin van der Sar (calf) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (knee) are both fit again.

"All the players have come back from the internationals fit," added the boss in his pre-match press conference on Friday. "That's always the concern you have, but we've been blessed with that bit of luck.

"Paul Scholes will return, and Michael Carrick didn't play, which is great for us because the centre of midfield will be fresh.

"We had a number of players training with us this week; Scholes, Ji-sung Park, Kieran Richardson, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Wes Brown, Gaby Heinze. That's an unusual situation for an international week, but it's good for us.

"Hopefully we will have the right kind of freshness, because we see in Blackburn a team that is stubborn and plays with purpose. They are having a good season and still have ambitions of their own in the FA Cup, so it won't be an easy game."

[jlae11]

does the article say that saha is OUT for the game?... or does it imply that he might be included in the squad... he might get into the game if needed???

[kennethlindheim]

Would be interesting to see if Ferguson because of the Roma game.

[dukeofdavinci]

does the article say that saha is OUT for the game?... or does it imply that he might be included in the squad... he might get into the game if needed???

he will be dropped i reckon.

he is still not match fit, since ole is back he will start and might partner giggs as rooney would be dropped to the bench to rest him for the cl tie.

[kennethlindheim]

Starting lineups:

Man Utd:

Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Park, Giggs, Rooney

Subs:
Kuszczak, Smith, Solskjær, O'Shea, Richardson

Blackburn:

Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Dunn, Kerimoglu, Mokoena, Pedersen, Derbyshire, McCarthy

Subs:
Enckelman, Nonda, Henchoz, Roberts, Peter

[russe||]

Pretty happy with that lineup. Heinze has been great recently, Giggs and Rooney playing upfront works quite well too.

[russe||]

OMG. What a great save from Friedel!

The Blackburn keeper spills Ronaldo's shot and it looks like Rooney has a tap in but somehow Friedel gets a cross and manages to get a hand to it.

[kennethlindheim]

Looks like Vidic has to be substituted.

[russe||]

Rooney missed a great chance. Cross comes over but he completely misshits the volley, unmarked in the 6yard box.