Premier League Champions Manchester United should beat Bolton Wanderers and hit the front of the race for the title for the first time this season. They play on Saturday evening and Liverpool have a long wait until Monday night when they host ~Everton at Anfield. By then, the pressure will be well and truly on them.Victory at Bolton Wanderers would lift United one point clear of Liverpool, who are not in action until Monday night when they host Merseyside rivals Everton.
With one game in hand, United have the chance to add to the pressure on Liverpool, who were held to a goalless draw at Stoke City in their last match. Remember also that Manchester United have played ALL the top 12 teams AWAY from home and they all must come to Old Trafford now, with the exception of Chelsea of course who had their visit last week and got a hell of a beating.
"You don't mind when you go top, but top is definitely the place to be," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "Hopefully that's where we'll be by Saturday night."
With nine successive clean sheets United have a rock solid defence. Five of their past seven league matches have been won by 1-0. Injuries to Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra mean they will have to rearrange the team somewhat at Bolton, but with such strength in depth they will still be a handful for Bolton.
Speaking of recent injuries Fergie said: "Carlos (Tevez) limped through the second half and Jonny (Evans) limped through virtually the whole game," he said. "We will have to assess them and see how they are. We need our best team on Saturday because Bolton are a big side."
Bolton Wanderers thought they had found a future super star and crept in to buy him while no one else noticed. The player in question is Axel Witsel of Standard Liege.On 17th September 2006 a 17 year old Witsel made his debut in a competitive game against FC Brussels when he replaced Steven Defour in the 89th minute. Eleven days later he made his European debut as a substitute against Chorley Fc.
During the 2007-2008 season, at 18 years of age, he was a key member in the team that won the Belgian League title. During this year, he formed the very young midfield together with other Belgian talents such as Marouane Fellaini (19 at the time, and now of Premier League club Everton) and Steven Defour (also 19 at the time).
He is named after Axl Rose, the musician from Guns n Roses. His father, a former footballer himself, is a huge fan of the rock group and named his son, whose full name is Axel Sweet Child O' Mine Witsel, after the hard-rocking frontman.
Manchester City and Manchester United have now joined the battle for Witsel after Bolton Wanderers were linked with a £6 million offer for the teenager last week. However, Belgian sources say both Manchester clubs have intimated they're willing to pay £9 million to bring Witsel to England in January.....Back To Home Page
