Manchester Utd. - Wolverhampton

I won’t waste the words too much on United and their current form. Sir Alex again pulled something from the hat and this squad is again fully competitive. Five wins and one defeat (vs. Burnley on the road, 0-1) in Premier League, so far. For tonight’s encounter some youngsters and fringe players will get a chance. Goalie will be Tomasz Kuszczak instead walking disaster, Ben Foster. Central defenders will be Wes Brown and Jonny Evans. Just a fact Brown will be in front suggest a decent possibility of conceding goals. Gibson, Macheda, Welbeck, Brown, Tosic, some of them will also appear. Michael Owen will be in attack as the reward for Saturday’s winner. Far from disputing their talent, just don’t think they can be fully competitive and play on result. Despite some good results in past, Sir Alex doesn’t rank Cup competition (especially League Cup) too high and I think any upset tonight wouldn’t even take a smile, after Saturday’s win, from his face. They have a clash against Stoke at Saturday and most of his key players will be resting (at least first 60 minutes).

Woverhampton started this season as clear underdogs. Fast return in second tier is something that has been already predicted to them. But, so far, they’re announcing a battle at least. Two wins in opening six rounds, Wigan on the road (1-0) and in last round Fulham at home (2-1). Worth of mentioning is also their more than decent away display in defeat against Man.City (0-1). Their biggest problem currently is big number of new players, some signings are even new in England and simply need some time to adapt. Also, Wolves have had a lots of injury concerns. For tonight’s game, two key players are making comebacks from injury, excellent winger Michael Kightly and striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (both came as the substitutes at Saturday’s win). Also new signing, striker Stefan Maierhofer, will have his debut. Boss Mick McCarthy will try to use this game for morale boosting, but also as a test game for Premier League. This could be the strongest Wolves’ team this season. 

United are always favorites wherever they play, but I can not see any obvious domination. Although home win is probable, I can not see any convincing win and wouldn’t even write off some surprising result at Trafford. Especially because I expect some outcome from Wolves’ attacking force. Asian handicap +1.75 on visitors seems as a very good value and nice choice, (188 offer 1.95), while Pinnacle for +1.5 offer also more than decent 2.20. 

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Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Blackburn will renew their interest in Schalke's German striker Kevin Kuranyi this summer after provisionally lining him up in January as a potential replacement for Roque Santa Cruz. (Daily Mail) 
Loan striker Jay Simpson will not remain with West Brom next season as he wants to return to parent club Arsenal to fight for his place. (The Sun) 
Hearts midfielder Bruno Aguiar has hinted he may leave Tynecastle under freedom of contract at the end of the season. (Scottish Daily Express) 
Celtic target Jordi Gomez, currently on loan at Swansea from Espanyol, will wait until the summer before deciding his next move. (Scottish Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes claims he was right to rest Brazilian striker Robinho for the side's 3-1 home defeat to Fulham after fans subjected the Welshman to chants of "you don't know what you're doing". (Various) 
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has fired a warning to Chelsea that the Reds are ready to pull-off another sensational European comeback in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. (Daily Express) 
However, Chelsea's players are planning to convince temporary manager Guus Hiddink to stay with the Blues beyond the end of the season by winning all their remaining games, says midfielder Michael Ballack. (Daily Express) 
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is also targeting a 100% winning run-in to the season for his side in a last-ditch bid to claim a top-four finish after Sunday's 3-3 draw with Everton extended their run without a win to 10 games. (The Times) 
Newcastle caretaker boss Alan Shearer was unhappy with the lateness of Obefami Martins' withdrawal from the squad for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke because of a sore groin, after the striker had trained the two previous days. (Various) 
Teenage striker Federico Macheda's stunning start to his Manchester United career is set to be rewarded with a new £10,000-a-week contract this summer. (Daily Mail) 
Former Newcastle executive director Dennis Wise is poised for a swift return to football as manager of QPR after holding talks with Hoops co-owner Flavio Briatore and chairman Gianni Paladini. (Various) 
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is set to sign a new four-year deal with the club, doubling his salary to around £1.5m-a-year in the process. (Daily Star) 
Wigan striker Amr Zaki faces further disciplinary action after being spotted coming out of a Manchester nightclub in the early hours of Friday morning - just 13 hours before the Latics were beaten 4-1 by Arsenal. (Daily Mirror) 
Rangers playmaker Pedro Mendes has been branded a diver by furious Motherwell defender Brian McLean. (Various) 
Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish has urged Barry Ferguson to grow up and apologise to Rangers boss Walter Smith. (Scottish Sun) 
Hibs defender Ian Murray reckons the SPL split is 'crazy' and would like to see it abolished as of next season. (Various) 
Watford manager Brendan Rodgers says a new pitch rather than new players would help him develop his desired passing game at Vicarage Road. (Daily Express) 

AND FINALLY 

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp says Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko will have to work harder to improve his English after revealing his translator gets in the way during training sessions. (Daily Telegraph)
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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Tottenham are lining up a bid for Wigan striker Amr Zaki, who missed the defeat by Everton at the weekend after failing to return from international duty with Egypt. (Daily Mirror) 
Spurs are set to offload striker Darren Bent in a summer shake-up. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is also tracking Serbian international left-back Ivan Obradovic, who plays for Partizan Belgrade. (Daily Express) 
Portsmouth midfielder Nico Kranjcar is being lined up for a £10m move to Greek side Panathinaikos. (The Sun) 
Pompey are set to offload striker Theofanis Gekas at the end of the season, with Zenit St Petersburg interested. (Daily Mirror) 
Fulham will battle it out with Celtic for Coventry midfielder Aron Gunnarsson. (The Sun) 
Everton are keen on Huddersfield goalkeeper Alex Smithies. (The Sun) 
Wolverhampton Wanderers are lining up a £1m bid for Bristol Rovers' 26-goal striker Ricky Lambert. (Daily Mirror) 
PSV Eindhoven hope landing Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's former coach Frank Rutten will help persuade the Dutch start to return to Holland. (Daily Star) 
Dundee have targeted Queen of the South's Stephen Dobbie to spearhead their attack next season. (Daily Express) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Chelsea players are campaigning for the return of former manager Jose Mourinho, who is coach of Inter Milan, if interim Blues boss Guus Hiddink leaves Stamford Bridge in the summer. (Daily Express) 
But Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has identified AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti as the next boss of the Blues if he cannot convince Hiddink to stay. (Daily Mail) 
Newcastle will pay former executive director of football Dennis Wise a £1.5m pay-off to leave the club. (Daily Mail) 
West Ham are set to claim compensation from the Football Association following Carlton Cole's groin injury while on England duty. (Daily Express) 
Manchester United have been accused of turning football into a "cattle market" by Lazio over the deal that brought striker Federico Macheda to Old Trafford as a 16-year-old in 2007. (The Times) 
Rangers' injury woes have worsened with Kirk Broadfoot and Lee McCulloch joining the Ibrox casualty list ahead of Wednesday's meeting with St Mirren. (Daily Star) 
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Caldwerwood has backed his keeper Jamie Langfield to take the Scotland jersey from banned Rangers goalie Allan McGregor. (Daily Star) 
Kilmarnock midfielder Allan Johnston has been told he needs an operation on his hamstring to save his career. (The Herald) 
The SFA have denied rumours that Celtic's Scott Brown was involved in the drinking session which cost Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor their Scotland careers. (Daily Mail) 
Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati has appealed to Italian clubs to end his exile in Glasgow. (Daily Mail) 
St Mirren have handed a trial to French youth midfielder Malik Hioume. (Daily Express) 
Clyde are set to plunge into liquidation at the end of the month with mounting debts of almost £300,000. (Daily Express) 
Celtic's Scott Brown is at the centre of another public row after being warned by police over an incident on a train bound from Newcastle to Glasgow with his fellow team-mates. (The Sun) 
Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson could escape his Scotland hell 10,000 miles away in Australia as three clubs down under bid for his signature. (The Sun) 
Former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat says he has no room for Barry Ferguson at Zenit St Petersburg. (Daily Record) 
Former Celtic hero Tommy Burns is to be immortalised with a permanent memorial at the club's stadium in Glasgow. (Daily Record) 
Rangers have missed out on the opportunity to sign Manchester United's hot-shot Federico Macheda on loan next season following his wonder goal against Aston Villa. (Daily Record) 

AND FINALLY 

It has been revealed that Manchester United's teenage sensation Federico Macheda earns 'only' £35,000 a year. (The Sun) 
The 17-year-old Italian was offered a job as a pizza delivery boy by a friend in Sale as a fall-back if his football career failed. (Daily Star)
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Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Everton manager David Moyes is preparing a summer bid for Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas. (Daily Mirror) 
Aston Villa are also interested in Jenas - if they lose Gareth Barry to Liverpool in the summer. (Daily Mirror) 
Newcastle have made a £6m inquiry about Wigan striker Amr Zaki. (Daily Mail) 
Stoke City are set to launch a new bid for Blackburn Rovers midfielder Aaron Mokoena. (Daily Mirror) 
Swindon striker Simon Cox is a £2m target for West Brom and Leicester. (Daily Mirror) 
Coventry keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos is being chased by former club Hartlepool. (Daily Mirror) 
Wolves captain Jody Craddock has rejected an approach from Australian side Perth Glory. (Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Mach of the Day, Mach the Knife, Teenage Kicks, Boy Wonder and Kiko the Kid are just some of the headlines in today's papers referring to Federico Macheda's late goal for Manchester United on Sunday. (Various) 
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has shelved contract talks with his players until the end of the season. (Daily Express) 
Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale has vowed to ban for life the supporter who threw a coin at referee Mike Dean in Sunday's south Wales derby against Swansea. (The Times) 
Former Newcastle manager Graeme Souness is ready to save his old club Southampton from going out of business. (Daily Mail) 
Liverpool striker Nathan Eccleston has signed a new two-year contract at the club. (Daily Mirror) 
Rangers manager Walter Smith has called for an end to the reporting on Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor's drinking session and offensive gestures. (Various) 
Meanwhile, the Rangers manager insists his side are at full-stretch as they try to close the gap on Celtic at the top of the SPL table. (Scotsman) 
Worried Livingston fans have heard a radical rescue plan on for the cash-strapped club if it goes into administration. (Scotsman) 
Clyde could go bust in less than three weeks after being evicted from Broadwood stadium by North Lanarkshire Council. (Daily Record) 
Celtic are closing in on a player-exchange partnership with Hungarian league leaders Ujpest FC. (The Herald) 

AND FINALLY 

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt is to give Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo running tips at a specially arranged training session at the club. (The Sun)

Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa

Federico Macheda scored a stunning late winner as Manchester United regained top spot in the Premier League. 
The 17-year-old substitute turned in the box and curled in a superb strike to make his debut the stuff of dreams. 
Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring from an indirect free-kick after a James Milner backpass, before John Carew's header restored parity. 
Gabriel Agbonlahor headed Villa in front only for Ronaldo to level with a low shot and Macheda to snatch victory. 
It was an incredible finish to a match that twisted and turned - and had looked to be going the way of Villa rather than the champions. 
But after digging deep, and finding inspiration from an untried teenager, United have leapfrogged Liverpool at the top of the table. 
And they also avoided a third successive league defeat, which would have been more galling given that Villa were thumped 5-0 by Liverpool in their last match. 
They struggled with an unfamiliar back four that was forced upon them because of Rio Ferdinand's injury and Nemanja Vidic's suspension. 
Gary Neville, returning from injury, was brought in to partner John O'Shea in the heart of defence, but that proved to be a costly mistake.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, O'Shea, Evans, Evra, Nani (Macheda 61), Carrick, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Giggs, Tevez (Welbeck 87). 

Subs Not Used: Foster, Park, Gibson, Martin, Eckersley. 
Booked: Macheda. 
Goals: Ronaldo 14, 80, Macheda 90. 

Aston Villa: Friedel, Luke Young, Cuellar, Davies, Shorey, Milner (Reo-Coker 76), Petrov, Barry, Ashley Young, Carew, Agbonlahor. 

Subs Not Used: Guzan, Delfouneso, Knight, Salifou, Gardner, Albrighton. 
Booked: Milner, Ashley Young. 
Goals: Carew 30, Agbonlahor 58. 
Att: 75,409 
Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).
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