Premiership: Birmingham Versus Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson will revert to his strongest XI as Manchester United aim to forget their Carling Cup humiliation at the hands of Coventry.

Saturday, 29th September, kick-off 17:15 (GMT)

Squads :

Birmingham: Taylor, Kelly, Djourou, Ridgewell, Queudrue, Larsson, Nafti, Muamba, Danns, Palacios, Kapo, McSheffrey, Jerome, Schmitz, Kingson, Sadler, O'Connor, Parnaby, Johnson.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Pique, Evans, Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Eagles, Anderson, Nani, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez, Saha.

Sir Alex eyes loan transfers

The 2-0 defeat to Coventry at Old Trafford left the Reds boss “shocked” and “flabbergasted” after his young side – with an average age of 21 – never really got going against Iain Dowie’s committed side.

The competition had been viewed as an opportunity to give the likes of Gerard Pique, Danny Simpson, Jonny Evans, Chris Eagles, Lee Martin and Dong Fangzhuo the chance to show what they can do.

With that avenue now cut off, there could be loan moves for a number of that group, although Pique and Simpson may be held back as defensive cover.

"It was a shock to us,” said the boss at his Friday press conference. “But the one thing that perhaps mitigated it was the fact that they've not had enough football as a team.

"We looked at the League Cup as an opportunity for these players to play,” he added. "Now that's gone I think we'll have to review the situation with one or two of them going on loan, because they do need football.

"With (Gary) Neville and (Owen) Hargreaves coming back we've got a good strong squad. There'll have to be some that we have to keep. Pique was excellent on Wednesday. He was our best player along with Anderson. We'll probably keep Simpson as he can play both full-back positions. But I'm maybe looking at the rest going on loan as they need to play football.”

Pique Has 'Horrible' Night

Manchester United's Gerard Pique has described the loss against Coventry City in the Carling Cup as a 'horrible feeling'.

The Red Devils were dumped out of the competition by the Championship side on Wednesday night, after suffering a 2-0 home defeat.

Sir Alex Ferguson made 11 changes to his side, and was expecting his up and coming stars to see off The Sky Blues' challenge.

However, goals either side of half-time from Michael Mifsud secured a memorable success for Iain Dowie's men.

Pique has spoken of his disappointment, and has rued his side's costly mistakes.

"Looking up at the scoreboard at the final whistle and seeing 2-0 was a horrible feeling, especially when you're up against a Championship side at Old Trafford," he told the club's official website.

"I thought we started the game well and had some good possession. But their first goal brought them alive.

"After the break we didn't feel good and when they scored the second it was a horrible feeling.

"We know we did a lot of things wrong, but you can always learn from these situations and hopefully we will grow as players.

"Some people will think we've missed our chance. We're all very disappointed.

"We gave everything we could on the pitch, but things just didn't go our way."

Carling Cup: Manchester Utd 0 Coventry City 2

The young United team that Sir Alex Ferguson had previously claimed could win the competition were dumped out by Coventry. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he was “shocked and flabbergasted” by United’s performance in the 2-0 defeat to Coventry City.

Match Report:

Man Utd: Kuszczak, Bardsley (Brown 45), Evans (Carrick 56),Pique, Simpson, Nani, Martin (Campbell 45), O'Shea, Eagles,Dong, Anderson.

Subs Not Used: Heaton, Eckersley.

Booked: Pique.

Coventry: Marshall, Osbourne (McNamee 88), Ward, Turner,Borrowdale, Simpson, Stephen Hughes, Doyle, Tabb, Mifsud,Best (Adebola 90).

Subs Not Used: Konstantopoulos, De Zeeuw, Thornton.

Goals: Mifsud 27, 70.

Att: 74,055

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Ferguson Set To Give Youth A Chance

"I'm going to play the younger ones, but also players like Anderson, Nani, maybe O'Shea," he said. "But the younger one like Pique, Evans, Simpson, Bardlsey, Eagles, Martin, Dong, Campbell, Kuszczak - they'll all be involved,” Ferguson revealed to Manchester United Radio.

"This is a really important night for these players. They all want regular first-team football and that's not easy to manage. I'm trying to get them games in the Premier League and in Europe too, but Wednesday is a great opportunity for them.

"You have to use your squad throughout the course of the season and I'll be doing that when the time's right. At the moment they might not see that, but it will happen and I know they won't let us down.

"A lot of these players have already shown great improvement. Chris Eagles has been sensational in training and the games he's played in. Young Jonny Evans and Gerard Pique have also been excellent, as has Danny Simpson.

"There's real promise there and that's what we want to see on Wednesday. We want them to play with the kind of commitment they see from the first-team players every week."

Speaking about their opponents, Ferguson was sure that Coventry will put up a spirited fight when they travel to Old Trafford.

Ferguson also said England striker Wayne Rooney is itching to be involved after returning last week from a broken toe sustained on the opening day of the season.

"He's been in my ear wanting to play," Ferguson said.

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 0

Manchester United scored on the either side of half time to defeat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 in the Premiership at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Carlos Tevez scored his first Premiership goal in the Red Devils shirt with a fine header in the first-half injury time. Louis Saha came off the bench to make it 2-0 to the home side, who made their way to the second position in the Premiership table.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo,Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Tevez (Saha 79), Rooney.

Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani, Pique, O'Shea.

Booked: Rooney, Brown.

Goals: Tevez 45, Saha 90 pen.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Ben-Haim, Terry, Ashley Cole,Makelele, Essien, Obi, Joe Cole (Pizarro 76), Shevchenko (Kalou 59), Malouda (Wright-Phillips 69).

Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Alex.

Sent Off: Obi (32).

Booked: Joe Cole, Terry.

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

Att: 75,663

Premiership Preview: Manchester United - Chelsea

Sunday, 23rd September, 2007, kick-off 16:00

Possible Starting XI:

Manchester United: Van der Sar - Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs, Tevez.

Subs: Kuszczak, O’Shea, Nani, Pique, Saha,

Chelsea: Cech - Belletti, Alex, Terry, A.Cole, Essien, Makelele, Mikel, J.Cole, Shevchenko, Malouda.

Subs: Cudicini, Alex, Pizarro, Wright-Phillips, Kalou.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Stadium: Old Trafford, Manchester

Champions League Group F:Sporting Lisbon 0 Manchester United 1

Cristiano Ronaldo marked the return to his former club Sporting Lisbon with a stunning goal last night to get Manchester United's Champions League campaign off to a flyer.

Sporting: Stojkovic, Abel, Tonel, Anderson Polga,Ronny (Bruno Pereirinha 74), Izmailov (Vukcevic 55), Veloso,Joao Moutinho, Romagnoli (Purovic 67), Djalo, Liedson.

Subs Not Used: Tiago, Paredes, Farnerud, Gladstone.

Booked: Romagnoli.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick,Scholes, Nani, Giggs (Anderson 76), Ronaldo (Tevez 86),Rooney (Saha 72).

Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Pique, Evans, Eagles.

Booked: Nani, Van der Sar.

Goals: Ronaldo 62.

Att: 39,514

Ref: Herbert Fandel (Germany).

Manchester United-SCP Lisbon Preview

Owen Hargreaves, a summer signing from Bayern Munich, has not travelled to Portugal due to a thigh strain, but Wayne Rooney returns to the squad for the first time since he broke his foot in the opening match of the season. United are without Mikael Silvestre after his season ending knee injury at the weekend, while Gary Neville, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji Sung are all sidelined. Gerard Piqué convocated.

SQUADS

Sporting Lisbon: Stojkovic, Tiago; Anderson Polga, Ronny, Tonel, Gladstone, Paulo Renato, Abel; Carlos Paredes, Izmailov, Simon Vukcevic, Pontus Farnerud, Miguel Veloso, Bruno Pereirinha, João Moutinho, Romagnoli, Celsinho; Liedson, Purovic, Yannick Djaló.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Pique, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Nani, Gibson, Eagles, Martin, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez, Saha, Dong.

Piqué made his Premiership debut

Manchester United claimed their third consecutive 1-0 victory on Saturday thanks to a late header by Nemanja Vidic at Everton. Gerard Piqué made his Premiership debut in 2007/08 season as a substitute on Saturday against Everton.

Everton: Wessels, Hibbert, Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Arteta, Jagielka, Neville (McFadden 85), Osman (Pienaar 73), Johnson, Yakubu (Anichebe 74). Subs not used: Turner, Carsley.

Booked: Neville, Pienaar.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (Nani 41), Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Evra, Giggs (Saha 63), Tevez, Nani (Pique 85). Subs not used: Kuszczak, Gibson.

Booked: Scholes, Ronaldo.

Goals: Vidic 83.

Att: 39,364

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Preview: Everton - Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo returns from suspension but Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea are out after picking up injuries on international duty.

Striker Wayne Rooney has recovered from a fractured foot and is back in the Manchester United squad for the trip to former club Everton.

Man Utd : Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Evans, Pique, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Giggs, Eagles, Tevez, Saha, Rooney, Nani, Anderson, Martin.

Everton : Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stubbs, Lescott, Yobo, Baines, Valente, Arteta, McFadden, Neville, Carsley, Osman, Pienaar, Johnson, Yakubu, Anichebe, Wessels.

When: Saturday, 15th Sept, kick- off 12:00 BST

Where: Goodison Park, Merseyside

DKV Seguros Zaragoza - MRA Navarra (24-11-2006)

Gerard Piqué is watching an indoor football match (futsal) with his teammates Chus Herrero and Sergio Garcia.

Spain 4 - Georgia 0

Spain defeated Georgia for the second time in Group 4 at the Estadio Municipal Francisco Bonet in Almuñécar on Tuesday to maintained their perfect start in qualifying for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.



Spain: Roberto; Torres, Piqué, Torrejón, Crespo; 'Sisi' (Alfaro, min.75), Raúl García (Granero, min.63), Javi Martínez, Capel; Jurado y Xisco (Adrián, min.38).


Georgia: Loria; Tomasvili, Popkhadze, Navalovsky, Kashia; Grigalashvili, Kobakhidze, Merebashvili (Tavbershivili, min.91), Lobjanidze (Kakhelishvili, min.26); Gotzhilivili (Dvachvili, min.63) y Tchelidze.


Goals: 1-0. 13. Xisco. Deflected ball past keeper from Diego Capel's shot. 2-0. 45+2. Jurado (penalty). After Capel brought down by Kashia. 3-0. 68. Granero. Curled free kick up into top corner of net. 4-0. 80. Adrián. Picked up ball outside area and fired shot past keeper.


Referee: Markus Strómbergsson.

Blues eye shock Manchester United raid

Birmingham City Football Club are keen on Gerard Pique

The Spanish ace spent last season on loan at Real Zaragoza and looked set for a permanent move to the La Liga side, yet Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recalled him to his squad for this campaign.

However, the former Barcelona youngster is still some way off the first team at Old Trafford, and Steve Bruce is looking to raid his old club and take the player on loan during the January transfer window.

And if the deal is a success and Pique helps the Blues maintain their position as a Premier League club, a permanent move in the summer could be on the cards if Carson Yeung completes his takeover of the St Andrews club.

"When the new guy (Yeung) comes in, I look at all the other investors that have come into the Premier League, at Portsmouth, Manchester City, West Ham United, everywhere you look, and what they have spent,” said Bruce.

"We obviously hope that is going to be the case here as well. It will be a fantastic scenario if that happens."

Birmingham City Official Website

Real Zaragoza Dreams Of Piqué

Gerard Piqué was an impossible dream in the summer transfer market. Real Zaragoza insist the dream of signing Piqué is alive.

Real Zaragoza intend to make a January bid for Manchester United defender Gerard Pique.

Zaragoza failed to land Pique during the summer market after marathon talks with United, but are counting on the young Spaniard becoming increasingly unsettled in the coming months as he struggles to break-up the Rio Ferdinand-Nemanja Vidic central defensive partnership at Old Trafford.

Pique still has three years left on his existing United deal and is rated highly by manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Last Tuesday Gerard Piqué went to Zaragoza to visit his ex-teammate assured that "the door of the Real Zaragoza is open and will always be an option. Here they treated me very well, I was very comfortable and I keep a great memory. Will be up for sure".

Gerard Piqué called up for U21s

Gerard Piqué has been called up by the Spain Under-21 team for European Championships Qualifiers match against Georgia on September 11.Training will take place on 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th August in the Las Rozas Training Ground.

Squad List

José Manuel Jurado y Raúl García - Atlético de Madrid

Javier Martínez - Athletic Club

Antonio Barragán, Francisco Jiménez 'Xisco', Adrián López - Deportivo De La Coruña

Marc Torrejón y Francisco Casilla - RCD Espanyol

Esteban Granero - Getafe

Roberto Jiménez - Nastic de Tarragona

Roberto Canella - Real Sporting Gijon

Miguel Torres - Real Madrid

Gerard Piqué - Manchester United

José Ángel Crespo, Alejandro Alfaro y Diego Capel - Sevilla

Juan M. Mata - Valencia

Sisinio González - Real Valladolid