Premier League Preview: Sunderland vs Manchester United

Two games in the space of 72 hours for the Reds will certainly test the theory that Sir Alex Ferguson has one of his strongest ever squads at his disposal. 

With a fifteen point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League there’s the thinking among some United fans that today’s game at the Stadium of Light is one that’s ‘losable’ for the Reds while the match with Chelsea on Monday isn’t so should take precedence.

There’s no reason why United cannot field two strong sides for the brace of games even though one team may be made up of what could be called ‘the first team.’ Some players could be considered too valuable to drop for either game, so the lies of Carrick, Evra and David De Gea may just have to have their Weetabix.

Sir Alex Ferguson selection after an international break:

 “I don’t think there are any injuries which is really good news… There’s a fair bit of tiredness and the answer to that is to make sure we get the energies back in their bodies. Hopefully it will give us a good strong squad to approach the two games on Saturday and Monday. We’ll try and keep the momentum going with he run we’re in at the moment. If we do that, Monday (Chelsea) will take care of itself.”

United came through the international fixture list unscathed. If anything, other than the obvious rigours of travel, some players came out ahead. There were goals for Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez, an encouraging display from Antonio Valencia, and a(n arguably) much-needed return to the score sheet(s) for Robin van Persie in two comfortable Netherlands victories. All-in-all, there was not too much to grumble about.

Hernandez and Valencia were the last to return (on Thursday) and therefore may not feature against Sunderland, with Chelsea the more likely destination for the pair. Shinji Kagawa, too, travelled to Japan and back so his level of fitness will need to be determined. Good news comes in the form of Nani, Paul Scholes and Phil Jones returning to training. Time will tell if this weekend’s fixtures have come a little too soon for the trio.

Elsewhere, freshness comes from the likes of Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic, Rafael and, that man, Rio Ferdinand, who all enjoyed some time off while their team mates represented their countries. Expect all four to feature prominently in one, if not both, of this Easter weekend’s fixtures, starting with Sunderland on Saturday.

The smart money is on Sir Alex taking more of a risk with today’s game when it comes to his starting line up and with that in mind here’s my prediction for the starting XI: DDG, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Nani, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney.