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League Cup Final Preview: Aston Villa - Manchester United
Premier League duo clash in Wembley showpiece...
26 Feb 2010 18:50:00
By Stephen Darwin
Kick-off: Sunday, February 28, 2010 – 15:00 GMT
Wembley, London
Wembley, London
Aston Villa will be looking to bring an end to their 14-year wait for a trophy when they take on League Cup holders Manchester United at Wembley in the final of this year's competition on Sunday.
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If the Villans are to win their first piece of major silverware since 1996, they'll certainly have to be at their best against a United side with Wayne Rooney in such devastating form.
Martin O'Neill will, however, point to the fact that the Red Devils have struggled against the Birmingham-based outfit this term, with Villa having beaten the Premier League champions at Old Trafford before holding them at Villa Park just two weeks ago.
Having left Rooney out of the League Cup final triumph over Tottenham Hotspur last season, Sir Alex Ferguson will surely be hard pressed to snub the England star this time around.
The United boss had been fielding a number of youngsters in the run up to the semi-final, although having picked a full-strength team to overcome Manchester City in the last round, a similarly experienced side is expected to line up on the Wembley turf this weekend.
Ferguson's troops suffered their ninth defeat of the campaign against Everton last weekend, and with Villa enjoying such an impressive unbeaten run of late that hasn't seen them lose since late December, the final should prove something of a closely contested encounter.
Having won the first ever League Cup final back in 1961, the Villans will be looking to add to their five previous titles on Sunday while United will be hoping to lift the trophy for the fourth time in their illustrious history.
FORM GUIDE
Aston Villa
24 Feb: Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace (FA Cup)
21 Feb: Aston Villa 5-2 Burnley (Premier League)
14 Feb: Crystal Palace 2-2 Aston Villa (FA Cup)
10 Feb: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
6 Feb: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Manchester United
23 Feb: Manchester United 3-0 West Ham (Premier League)
20 Feb: Everton 3-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
16 Feb: Milan 2-3 Manchester United (Champions League)
10 Feb: Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (Premier League)
6 Feb: Manchester United 5-0 Portsmouth (Premier League)
TEAM NEWS
Aston Villa
Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov is likely to be fit for the final having recovered from a virus, although O'Neill will have a decision to make over the goalkeeper position.
No.2 Brad Guzan has featured in all of Villa's previous League Cup ties this term but his manager could be tempted to call upon the more experienced Brad Friedel at Wembley.
Emile Heskey and James Collins will both be desperate for a starting place having been rested against Crystal Palace in midweek.
Possible starting XI: Friedel; Warnock, Dunne, Collins, Cuellar; A.Young, Petrov, Milner, Downing; Agbonlahor, Carew.
Manchester United
The big news on the injury front for Sir Alex Ferguson is that Rio Ferdinand will definitely be unavailable with a back injury.
The club have confirmed that Brazilian star Anderson will be out for the rest of the season having suffered a cruciate knee ligament in the victory over West Ham United, while Ryan Giggs will also miss out with an arm problem.
Nani is another who won't feature for the Red Devils as he continues to serve a suspension following his red card against Villa in the Premier League meeting on February 10.
Possible starting XI: Foster; Evra, Vidic, Evans, Rafael; Park, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia; Berbatov, Rooney.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa - Ashley Young
With Rafael likely to start in the first major final of his professional career, Ashley Young should certainly fancy his ability to cause the Brazilian a few problems when attacking down the Villa left.
The United full-back has shown himself to be fairly susceptible in defensive situations and Young will undoubtedly look to exploit any weakness with his pace and dribbling ability.
Manchester United - Antonio Valencia
Wayne Rooney may be stealing all the headlines at present, and understandably so, but spare a thought for United's summer recruit from Wigan Athletic who has adapted to life at Old Trafford with relative ease since his big-money move to the Theatre of Dreams.
The Ecuadorian has gone from strength to strength since the minute he arrived at the club and having created goals against Milan, Everton and two against West Ham in recent times, he's certainly a man who is bang in form at the moment.
PREDICTION
It may surprise some to learn that United are yet to win a game at the new Wembley without the aid of a penalty shoot-out.
Ferguson's troops will be keen to sew up the game within 90 minutes after having failed to do so in their previous six attempts but with Villa enjoying such a decent run at present, this one becomes decidedly tricky to call.
United's experience in these sort of pressure-cooker situations may just give them the edge although it promises to be a really hard-fought encounter that could certainly go either way.
Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United
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