Tuesday 12 February 2013

Real Madrid vs. Manchester United: Preview

A mouth-watering Champions League clash awaits on Wednesday as Manchester United face the formidable Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

Both sides have had differing league campaigns. Manchester United are currently twelve points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after their 2-0 win against Everton on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s defence of their La Liga title has not gone to plan however. They are currently in third place; sixteen points behind Barcelona and four points behind a Radamel Falcao inspired Atletico Madrid.

José Mourinho has come under heavy scrutiny for Real Madrid’s poor league campaign. Despite this, the Portuguese is still widely tipped to be Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford. Their head to head record is below:


Games
Percentage
Mourinho Wins
6
46.2%
Ferguson Wins
2
15.4%
Draws
5
38.4%
Total Games
13


Mourinho has a good record against Ferguson. He recorded wins with FC Porto and Chelsea between 2004 and 2007. Ferguson triumphed the last time the two managers faced each other in March 2009, with a 2-0 victory against Inter Milan at Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s team are favourites for Wednesday’s game. Personnel wise, I believe that both teams are evenly matched. However, Real Madrid are unbeaten at the Bernabéu this season, winning fifteen out of nineteen games in all competitions.

Manchester United have also never won at the Bernabéu; Arsenal and Liverpool in 2006 and 2009 remain the only English teams to have recorded away victories against Los Blancos.

The game has added significance as current Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo faces his former club for the first time. He recently stated that the happiest time of his career was spent at Manchester United. Ferguson is still a huge admirer of Ronaldo, but he has ruled a out a return for the twenty-eight year old; he is simply too expensive.

Manchester United have a slight advantage by playing away in the first leg. But, I believe that they need to score at least two away goals to have a serious chance of progressing in the return leg on March 3rd. With players such as Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the team, this is entirely achievable.

By Kelvin Jones

Follow me on Twitter! @KelvinJonesss

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