Man Utd v Blackburn

By Steve Wilson
BBC Match of the Day commentator

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 70th birthday on New Year’s Eve

TEAM NEWS

Manchester United will be without defenders Chris Smalling (tonsillitis) and Jonny Evans (calf strain).

Rio Ferdinand could be named among the substitutes following a recent back problem but Phil Jones is likely to start after overcoming illness.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean has 10 senior players either ruled out or doubtful for the trip to Old Trafford.

Rovers will monitor David Dunn, Junior Hoilett and Martin Olsson, all of whom are nursing hamstring problems.

MATCH PREVIEW

You can hear the roar reverberate all the way down Deansgate and echo past Piccadilly – from Salford to Eastlands, from United to City – and it says “we’re coming to get you!”

Do you remember that scene in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex is chasing Jeff Goldblum and co in the jeep? As they drive crazily through the jungle with the T-Rex slobbering and snapping at their bumper, they look in the wing mirror to see its massive, gaping jaws inches from tearing them apart. Steven Spielberg’s touch of genius is that the words “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear” are engraved in the mirror glass.

Manchester United are that big old beast – their hot breath steaming up City’s mirror.

Back to back 5-0 wins don’t come around too often, even for Manchester United, and they could not have come at a better time. United have not only chewed up City’s points advantage completely, but they have slashed their advantage in goal difference from 12 to five; and most importantly, City have to deal with the jitters that hearing those giant footsteps pounding behind them will bring.

Blackburn may have taken a point against mis-firing Liverpool but at Old Trafford they may feel like Spielberg’s goat waiting to be the T-Rex’s mid-afternoon treat; the goat didn’t put up much of a struggle.

Will Sir Alex Ferguson get the birthday present he desires? He turns 70 on New Year’s Eve – would he want anything more than to have moved back to the top of the Premier League?

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Blackburn have won once at Old Trafford in the Premier League (across 17 matches), a 2-1 victory in September 2005.
• Rovers’ most recent win was a 4-3 victory at Ewood Park in February 2006, with David Bentley scoring a hat-trick.
• United have beaten Rovers 50 times (all competitions), Rovers have won 31 of their meetings, and the clubs have drawn 29 times.

Manchester United

• With their hammering of Wigan on Boxing Day, Manchester United became the first top-flight club to win back-to-back league matches by a 5-0 scoreline since Everton in 1980.
• Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are nine Premier League games unbeaten – it’s the best run in the division.
• United have won by five or more goals on four occasions this season, and are the only club to have scored in every Premier League match this campaign.
• Since the start of last season, Dimitar Berbatov (four) and Wayne Rooney (three) have netted seven Premier League hat-tricks between them.

Blackburn Rovers

• Rovers have lost 11 of 18 Premier League games this season.
• Blackburn’s starting line-up against Liverpool had an average age of 24 years and 282 days old, their fourth-youngest ever in Premier League history and least experienced in 12 years.
• The club have won both previous Premier League matches on New Year’s Eve – both away from home. They won 1-0 at Crystal Palace (1994) and 3-0 at Wigan (2005).