While the visitors linger dangerously only a few points above the relegation zone, the hosts badly need the three points to keep up the pace with Manchester City, who are running away at the top of the Premier League table and are the bookies’ favourites with the best football odds to win the title.

The result will be even more important to Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as they will respond appropriately after humiliating bowing out of the UEFA Champions League at the group stage phase. Four wins in their last five league outings suggest it is not time to panic just yet though for the Red Devils.

United’s blistering start to the season has been long forgotten as complacency has seemingly seeped its way into the players in recent weeks. Indeed this school of thought can be bolstered by the fact that the champions have won just one of their last five games, with two of those games being losses. Wednesday night’s defeat to Basel meant that it was also the second competition in the space of seven days that the Old Trafford outfit have been eliminated in by a scoreline of 2-1.

Despite their cup troubles, last season’s Champions League finalists have won four of their last five league matches, the sole blemish being the controversial draw at home to Newcastle United. These results have come on the back of United’s self-destruction in the Manchester derby and things seemed to be looking up after that. However their most recent results, in all competitions, gives reason to worry for the majority of the 76,000 crowd at Old Trafford as the rarity of United struggling will mean an air of apprehension hangs over the red side of Manchester until after the Wolves game.

The 19-time league champions can put their troubles partially down to their injury-strewn squad which only got worse against Basel. Nemanja Vidic’s 4 month absence means he is the 8th first team player to be injured at the moment. However that burden could be lightended slightly if Dimitar Berbatov and the da Silva twins can shake off their knocks.

Tom Cleverley is unlikely to return before Christmas while his midfielder partner, Anderson, is ruled out until the spring at least. Javier Hernandez and Michael Owen won’t be back until the New Year as the 69-year-old manager tinkers with his line-up to ensure his best 11 available are out on the pitch.

Wolves, on the other hand, are extremely fortuitous with their injuries as Jody Craddock and Kevin Foley are their only absentees for their visit to Old Trafford. Mick McCarthy will be fielding his strongest team against as he hopes to build on last weekend’s win over Sunderland. Last season’s corresponding fixture was a very tense affair as a solo strike from Ji-Sung Park in the 93rd minute stole all three points for the hosts in a 2-1 victory. However the last time these two sides locked horns, it was Wolves who won 2-1 with Kevin Doyle grabbing the winners for his team.

Premiership betting odds have arch-rivals Manchester City as title favorites, but with six league matches this month, a perfect month could see things shifting in United’s favor going into the new year.

Along with their packed Premier League slate, United have a pivotal match at Basel that will decide whether United will be participating in the Champions League or the Europa League come February.

United will be favored to win all of their December fixtures, but will they do so?

Premier League

at Aston Villa, 3 December

Manchester United have dominated Villa in recent history, with Villa’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford being their only win over United in the last 31 league meetings between the two sides. Villa’s last home league win over United was a 3-1 win in August 1995, the result that prompted Alan Hansen’s infamous ‘kids’ jibe.

Villa come into this weekend’s match with only one win in their last six league matches, and they’ve won only three of 13 league matches this season. However, they’ve proven to be quite adept at drawing, as their seven stalemates are the most in the league.

vs. Wolves, 10 December

Along with ending United’s unbeaten streak with a 2-1 win at Molineux in February, Wolves came within moments of a surprise point at Old Trafford last season, but United will be expected to easily dispatch Mick McCarthy’s side at home this time around.

After opening the season with consecutive wins, Wolves have won only once in their last 11 league matches heading into a Sunday six-pointer against Sunderland.

For what it’s worth, Wolves have given up 12 goals in their last five away matches, and the only match in their last 10 to date in which they didn’t allow multiple goals was a 3-1 win over woeful Wigan, so this could be the perfect time for United to have a big day in attack.

at Queens Park Rangers, 18 December

United can’t overlook the first of their back-to-back matches in West London. QPR beat Chelsea at home in October, and City needed a 74th-minute winner to claim a 3-2 win at Loftus Road in early November.

However, United should take care of business in this clash, especially considering that Rangers have been far better on the road. Only one of QPR’s four league wins to date was at home, where they are 1-3-2 ahead of a weekend visit from West Brom.

at Fulham, 21 December

Fulham have been struggling in the Premier League, but this match actually shapes up to be a challenge, given that United are winless in their last three league visits to Craven Cottage, including last season’s 2-2 draw.

But the Cottagers aren’t looking as strong at home as they usually do, as they’ve won only one of six home league ties this season going into a Monday night meeting with Liverpool.

Another potential factor favoring United is how tired Martin Jol’s side could be coming in. This will be their fourth match in less than two weeks, as they visit Swansea on the 10th, host Odense in a Europa League match on the 14th, host Bolton on the 17th, then face United four days later.

vs. Wigan, 26 December

To say that United have dominated Wigan since their entrance into the Premier League would be a major understatement. Along with a 4-0 rout in the 2006 Carling Cup final, United have won all 12 of their Premier League meetings with Wigan, outscoring them 37-4. At home, United are six for six, outscoring the Latics 19-1 in the process. Nine of the 12 wins came by multiple goals, and in the last four matches, United have scored 16 and conceded none.

Wigan needed a late rally to avoid relegation last season, and they look destined for another dance with the drop this season. Roberto Martinez’s side will face Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool at home in December before coming to Old Trafford, and that stretch could toughen them up for the long haul, but United will be expected to deliver another beatdown in this Boxing Day bout.

vs. Blackburn Rovers, 31 December

Last season, United put seven past Blackburn at home, and even if they don’t hit that lucky number this time, another convincing win should be on the cards.

Blackburn did beat Arsenal at home, didn’t go down easy in home defeats to Tottenham and Chelsea, and held City for nearly an hour in a 4-0 home defeat. But away from home, they’ve surrendered three goals in a game five times already, and they’ve allowed 17 goals total in seven away matches to date. Those numbers don’t bode well at all for Blackburn, and United will be expected to inflict more misery on beleaguered boss Steve Kean, if he’s still in his position come New Year’s Eve.

Champions League

at FC Basel, 7 December

Ahead of the group stage, United were expected to qualify easily and top a group that, with Basel, Benfica, and debutants Otelul Galati in it, appeared to be one of the easiest on paper.

However, games and groups aren’t won on paper, and United will head to Switzerland needing to at least draw to qualify for the round of 16, with a group win more than likely out of the equation after being held 2-2 by Benfica at Old Trafford in their last group match.

United are often at their best when dealing with adversity and tense situations, so you’d have to favor them to take care of business and book their place in the last 16. It might not come easy, as Basel are also chasing the same thing and will be confident after their 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in September.

But the presence of Nemanja Vidic, whose only Champions League appearance thus far was a red-shortened one in the away tie against Otelul Galati, should steady a United back line that was shaky in the home draws against Basel and Benfica, and that will be pivotal in United’s quest to progress.

Anderson is again sent back to Portugal to the same specialist for the further assessment of his knee injury. Anderson had the Champions League clash with Otelul Galati on 2nd November and has not played since then. Sir Alex Ferguson stated this to media in an interview that Anderson is out until February 2012.

Ferguson is worried as Tom Cleverley who is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder in the Premier League for Manchester United is also out of the field due to an ankle injury.

Alex Ferguson however has no plans to go to the transfer market in the month January. He said in his interview with media that it might be easy to buy the players but is easier said than done to buy them or the Manchester market and that too in the month of January. He is also not sure to get any player that can make a better team for them. He doesn’t find any good player in the market; the players he wants are not available.

In totality the only fit midfield players left are Darren Gibson, Darren Fletcher,Ryan Giggs, Ji-sung Park and Michael Carrick. Ferguson tried to fit Wayne Rooney and Phil Jones as midfield players.

The permission is received from the IPO by which the Manchester United is now selling the 30 percent team with the great profit that is the most amazing thing that will surely help the team management. The company has planned to bring down the debt, so that it can lower the burden on the Glazer family, which are the club owner’s. Normally the Blazer family is not popular among the supporters because they never came in the media and never showed in the public issue.

The blazer family has been supported by the Manchester united but still they faced some problems that is they have decide to lower down the debt credit that will surely help them in the future so that they can easily stand in the market of the game. The club also announced that they have seen many days in which they have also seen the days when they have recovered by a single Sunday game and they are in the process of recovering only. Since the last few years, the total revenue has increased from 17 to 73.8 million pounds that also includes the total commercial revenue of 29.6 million pounds. By all that, the Manchester club almost reached the amazing profit of the 80 million that has set the records in the last few years.

The Manchester club has set the momentum to earn the profit and for that, they have crossed the limits with just the earnings of the game. They also have the media revenues that has also increased the earning to the club, now they have also sponsored deal the pounds shirt with the AON Corp. New ways have been evolved to make the revenues, which has set the track for the Manchester club. There are also the media revenues that are also raised from the 17 percent to 22.6 million pounds, the daily match revenue of the game has also rose from 10 percent to 21.6 million pounds. Now they have also set the record to establish the extra revenue in different parts of the countries by establishing the small teams, where they provide the training and games, which qualify to the National level.

Now the Manchester club has increased their by creating the teams across Europe that are the very easy way to meet the financial criteria by the game governing body, UEFA. The club has almost set the record of getting the revenue from most of all the things that are normally used for recreation. The success of the Manchester club is not totally depended upon the revenue that they get from the single game.

The United youngster came back to haunt his former employers

The game was very much a slow-burner to begin with as the celebration for the manager’s longevity in the hot-seat got underway ahead of kick-off. The Sir Alex Ferguson stand was unveiled as well as plans to erect a status of the Scottish coach and the players didn’t seem to have their mind on the game either in the first-half.

Despite offering very little going forward, Steve Bruce’s team were brilliantly organised at the back as the threat of Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and Nani were nullified easily, with Wayne Rooney playing out-of-position in central midfield, restricted to long-range efforts on Keiren Westwood’s goal. The lack of cohesion and fluidity in both sides play suggested there would be no goals in this half.

However in the first minute of injury time, Nani floated in a teasing corner, catching the Sunderland rearguard sleeping. Welbeck glanced his header towards goal before Wes Brown got a deflection to help it into the net. The brave away team’s resistance was broken by a mixture of misfortune and a lack of concentration. The half-time team talks changed hugely with that strike as Alex Ferguson’s outfit got the goal the occasion justified.

For the second period, Sunderland came out to attack more but this only suited the home side greater as they had more room to play in. With the game opening up, United had two magnificent opportunities in the space of several seconds. Rooney saw his left-footed volley turned away but Westwood and the Irishman bettered that save by denying Patrice Evra from point-blank range.

But just 10 minutes before the end, the champions could’ve paid for their profligacy when Sebastian Larsson found space down the right flank. The ex-Birmingham winger slid a dangerous ball across Anders Lindegaard’s six-yard box. However on-loan forward, Nicklas Bendtner was mere inches away from converting the golden opportunity as it agonisingly rolled across the face of goal and behind for a goal-kick.

The day belonged to Sir Alex Ferguson

The victory put Manchester United back into second place in the Premier League table after being surpassed by Newcastle United earlier in the day. However they still remain five points behind Manchester City after they secured a hard-fought win against QPR.

Visit WhoScored.com for more detail match reports and football statistics.

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Manchester United v Sunderland

The first of Manchester United’s trio of home fixtures this November is against Sunderland on Saturday. The Reds will lock horns with Steve Bruce’s struggling Wear side as Sir Alex Ferguson will celebrate his 25th year in charge of the 19-time English champions. With the hosts still licking their wounds after the 6-1 drubbing in the Manchester derby, you can be sure Rooney and co. will want to be firing on all cylinders as the club prepares itself to gain three points on this momentous in their history.

Treat yourself (or your significant other) to some Manchester United tickets and watch them take on Steve Bruce’s Sunderland.

Manchester United vs. Benfica

European opposition awaits Manchester United on the 22nd as Benfica are welcomed to the English city. After the cagey 1-1 draw in Portugal earlier in the reverse fixture of the group, both sides will be all-out to ensure they will do their best to finish top. As the Portuguese side are in second place behind United, they will seek to leapfrog the three-time winners of the European cup. However United will look to sew up qualification on the night.

Manchester United vs. Newcastle United

Finally to wrap up the month’s footballing affairs, Newcastle United visit the Theatre of Dreams. The Magpies are flying-high in the Premier League this season in 3rd position and are still undefeated. Alan Pardew’s new-look team has surprised everyone this season so far but their toughest test of the season yet is expected on the red half of Manchester. United will be looking to haul in Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title and this fixture will bode well if they are serious in retaining their title.

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Michael Ballack played an important role for the Bundesliga club; he is now at Bayer Leverkusen. Chelsea was actually in a danger of falling to reach in the Champions league knockout stages and Michael Ballack salted it away.

Chelsea took the lead for the third time on their travels in Group E where as Didier Drogba scored just his second goal of the season.

Michael Ballack said in one of his interviews that he played four years for Chelsea and knows how quickly the team can go wrong. He also agreed that it is always the most difficult thing for the team coach. However, in his next statement he included that both the team and the coach are responsible for a victory and a defeat and thus both have to handle any kind of situation altogether. He added that the team had success with his last team, Porto.

Michael Ballack said that the game of football is difficult and one could feel it only on the pitch. According to him the game is extremely difficult at the beginning of the match. He cleared the fact that his team was not that strong as they usually are and were not safe even when they were leading with 1-0.

For a moment there, Manchester United fans were beginning to think that this is going to be an effortless season and that the Red Devils will breeze through the season maintaining their impressive form. But football is nothing but unexpected. Injury problems have again began to plague the team. Last week, Rooney suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him in the Devils’ match against Stoke City. This is a potentially devastating blow to the Red Devils. First, Rooney has carried the team as its main scorer. He is arguably one of the hottest football players in the world right now so his potential sidelining will definitely affect them. Second, Rooney further depletes the Manchester United roster. The team is already suffering through a lot of injuries, most notably with Nemanja Vidic. While other players, like Rio Ferdinand, is just coming out of a long lay-off because of injury related problems as well.

It’s a good thing that he was able to bounce off that injury and was again in the starting 11 as it defeated Norwich 2 – 0.  Rooney’s injury prone so any news about him being sideline will certainly cause jitters among Manchester United fans. The big question is, will Rooney evade any major injuries this season?

Sir Bobby Robson was England Manager from 1982 to 1990 and lead the England squad to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. You can read more about Sir Bobby Robson’s career over at Wikipedia.