Manchester United v Cardiff City - e-Football Preview

Article by e-Manchester United Correspondent Tony Gillies

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So is this the start of a new dawn at Old Trafford? The signing of Juan Mata from Chelsea has given the fans a huge lift and we all hope Juan has done the same to the players. It is a massive signing, a statement of intent. Maybe not for this season, but Moyes is starting to lay the foundations for his own team and squad, he has promised us more signings of Mata’s stature, maybe not in January but in the summer. So hopefully we can now finish the season strongly and end up inside the top 4.

We take on Cardiff City on Tuesday night, and welcome back a United legend. On a personal note this guy is my United hero so  it’s such a shame that I am wanting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to come back to Old Trafford and get beaten, but needs must and a win tomorrow is a MUST if we are to start making a case for finishing in the top 4. Everton and Liverpool are playing against each other on Tuesday and Tottenham host Manchester City on Wednesday night, so at least 2 of these teams are going to drop points and we need to start making ground up sooner rather than later.

Team News

Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Maraoune Fellaini and Juan Mata all took part in training on Monday which is another massive boost and we need to be at full strength now more than we’ve needed to be in years. Michael Carrick has been side-lined for a month with an ankle injury picked up last Wednesday against Sunderland. Nemanja Vidic still has two games of he’s suspension to sit out so will not be available for selection.

Last 5 meetings (League matches only)

Nov 2013: Cardiff 2-2 Man Utd
Mar 1975: Man Utd 4-0 Cardiff
Aug 1974: Cardiff 0-1 Man Utd
Feb 1962: Man Utd 3-0 Cardiff
Sept 1961: Cardiff 1-2 Man Utd

Prediction

Predicted Starting XI (4-4-2) – De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Jones, Fletcher, Januzaj, Mata, Rooney, van Persie

My predictions haven’t been great lately but I’m going for a 2-0 win for United.