Smalling/Vidic to start against City

SAF has confirmed that both Rio and Evans will miss the City game and that Smalling with get the start alongside Vidic. I’m not sure if that’s more an indicment of the general performance of Brown and O Shea that they wouldn’t get the nod for such a crucial game or just an acknowledgment of Smalling’s assured performances thus far. Either way, Smalling/Vidic will have their hands full against our former favorite and the (former?) BFF of Evra and Park, Mr Tevez. Unlike the last encounter, they now have an added threat in Edin Dzeko, who I think will be scoring in bunches come next season.

The fact that the game will feature the top two scorers in the league this season (Berba & Tevez) doesn’t automatically mean we’ll get a goalfest as evidenced by the snorefest we ended up with the last time. Unlike the previous encounter, I expect Mancini to play with 2 up front this time allowing for more action on both ends and less of the ball getting stuck in the middle of the park.

As I mentioned in a prior post about our defense, Smalling and Vidic have had an impressive record when starting games together. Their record is 5W 0D 0D (Bursaspor 2x, Stoke, Birmingham, Blackpool). Granted, the quality of the opposition hasn’t been at the same level as that of City, but there is still a level of assuredness with a pairing of those 2 as opposed to when Evans has started this season.

Can they keep their 100% win record intact? Who’s to say? But if they do, the case for Smalling as Rio’s long term replacement will keep gaining steam and allow us to allocate most of our transfer funds to more pressing areas of need. Let’s get VDS’s replacement signed up!

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Category: Manchester United