Manchester United: Carling Cup Final Preview

Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon in the League Cup final from Wembley.

Man Utd have faced Tottenham 167 times before in their illustrious history but this weekend’s clash will be the first time the clubs have met in the final of any competition. The 1967/68 Charity Shield comes close but it doesn’t count. Incidentally, that match ended 3–3 and the teams were declared “joint winners.”

United have been successful in the past more often than not, having won 77, drawn 44, and lost 46 of their past meetings with Tottenham. But their record in the League Cup may well provide Spurs with a glimmer of hope.

The clubs have met six times thus far in the competition, with United coming out on top just once compared to Tottenham’s impressive five victories.

While Tottenham have had the upper hand in the past in the League Cup, the last time the clubs met in the competition was back in 1998 when United went out in the fifth round en route to that famous treble.

The clubs have met 23 times since then in all competitions, with the North London outfit managing to pick up just two wins. The last time Tottenham beat United was May 2001.

United Team News

While priorities clearly lie with the Premier League and Champions League, Ferguson looks set to give some of the squad players a run out. Dimitar Berbatov and Edwin van der Sar are the highest profile players to be left out of the match-day squad.

Leaving Berbatov out of the squad is a good move. Berbatov has expressed a desire to win trophies, and while question marks remain about his commitment and work rate, keeping the Bulgarian waiting for trophies can only help maintain his desire until the end of the season.

It’s a toss-up in goal between Ben Foster and Tomas Kuszczak, with both keepers looking questionable in their performances this campaign. With Edwin’s playing days coming to an end, will one of these two be able to step up their game and make the position their own?

Alex Ferguson has given strong indications that both Danny Welbeck and Darron Gibson will start in the match after the pair impressed in matches leading up to the final. Rafael is out, but his twin brother Fabio is in contention and could play some part even if he doesn’t start.

Jonny Evans will face a late fitness test, but the youngster is desperate to play, even if it means injections. Having been asked to play with injections in Tuesday’s draw at the San Siro, it would be harsh on the youngster if he were to miss out on his first Cup Final.

Anderson had been out of action for five weeks with ankle ligament damage but made a surprising return for United’s Reserves against Manchester City on Thursday night. United won 2–1 with Anderson looking impressive for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. While the Brazilian may not be fit to play the entire match, having played in all five games in the competition so far, you can bet he’ll have some sort of role to play on Sunday.

Possible Starting Lineup

Ben Foster

John O’Shea, Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand

Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes

Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney

Carling Cup Final Preview: Man Utd vs Tottenham