Former Manchester United defender David May gives his thoughts on the Premier League fixture with Stoke tomorrow evening.
My predictions don’t always come off but I knew it was going to be an important week, we had to play away in the Champions League, home to Chelsea and then away to dirty Leeds.
Not an easy few games but I think we have come through with flying colours and we should all be delighted. In Portugal we did a professional job, we were far too open against the Blues but at least we got the right result and could learn a lot from the performance. Then it was great to see Michael Owen and Giggsy shine at Elland Road, it just shows how far Leeds have fallen, nobody on the planet would have predicted the Gaffers team that night and yet they all did a brilliant job.
Onto the mighty Potters and if anyone had said a few years ago that Peter Crouch would be playing for Stoke you would have laughed at them. Ok some might say he’s tall, not bad in the air and will suit their style of play but he has played for England, Liverpool and Spurs in the last few years. I think it shows how far Stoke have come, for them to even be able to pay his wages is incredible. I say fair play to the Chairman and manager, hopefully it will bring them onto a new level. A few pundits have even suggested that they might finish in the top six, I think that is pushing it a bit, I would say top ten but they should be delighted with that.
I am expecting the Gaffer to go back to a similar team that played against Chelsea this weekend. However I would like to see Owen keep his place, Chicharito and Welbeck aren’t fully fit and it would be a nice reward for his performance against Leeds. I think Owen and Rooney play well together, are a constant goal threat and we will still have plenty of back up on the bench. The rest of the team looks like it picks itself: De Gea, whatever back four is fit, Fletch, Ando, Nani and Young on the wings. That should be more than enough to bring all the points back to the Theatre of Dreams!
Dangerman: Peter Crouch
Like I said before, it’s just fantastic Stoke have even got a player of Peter Crouch’s calibre. He has never let any of the teams down he has played for, always scored plenty of goals, gives 100% and is a good all round footballer. It might take him a little while to get used to the way Stoke play but I do think he will be a great signing for them in the long run. He will also pose a different test for our young defence on Saturday, let’s just hope they can keep him quiet.
Prediction : United are gonna win 4-1 with a double from Nani.
