Injuries force Ferguson to juggle Man. Utd lineup

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): Manchester United goes into the last round of games before a two-week break for World Cup fixtures a point clear of Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the Premiership.

The Old Trafford club claimed outright leadership for the first time this season with a 2-1 mid-week victory over fellow title challenger Wimbledon.

Success has come at a price though with manager Alex Ferguson's resources stretched by a string of injuries. To a list that includes David May, Philip Neville and Nicky Butt was recently added that of centerback Ronnie Johnsen out for three weeks with a hamstring injury.

In an effort to bolster his defense, Ferguson has used midfield star Roy Keane as sweeper and youngsters Chris Casper and Michael Clegg to partner his defensive stalwart Gary Pallister.

On the plus side, Andy Cole continues to improve his match fitness, coming off the bench to score the winner against Wimbledon, while Czech international Karel Poborsky has displayed improved form of late thanks to the arrival of a new interpreter at Old Trafford.

United faces Premiership struggler Southampton today. The visitors arrive having suffered midweek misery going out of the League Cup quarterfinals to second division Stockport County.

Second place Arsenal kept up its challenge with a 2-1 midweek win at West Ham thanks to goals from Ian Wright and Ray Parlour. The Gunners travel north to Leeds today for a second meeting this season with former Arsenal manager George Graham.

With five players red carded and a flurry of bookings in the last two months, Arsenal's title quest has been hindered by the unavailability of key players. Today is no exception with Dennis Bergkamp and centerback Martin Keown missing through suspension.

Since losing 3-0 to Arsenal in late October, George Graham and David O'Leary have tightened up the Elland Road defense considerably. The likelihood then is of a close game with a solitary goal deciding the issue.

The game will be broadcast live this evening on SCTV, starting at 10 p.m.

The only issue on Merseyside this week is that of consistency, or rather lack of it. Having played its way to top spot in the Premiership, Liverpool, apart from a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in mid-January, has looked anything but championship material this year.

The players seem incapable of performing for more than 45 minutes. Evidence this in the Chelsea Cup tie where they strolled the first half with Barnes and McManaman running the show only to fall apart after Ruud Gullit introduced Mark Hughes and then positioned Di Matteo further forward to stifle Barnes.

Having knocked Aston Villa out of the Cup and taken a point at Leeds in midweek, Derby County will provide the sternest of opposition for Liverpool today.

Talented strikers Dean Sturridge and Ron Willems will look to capitalize on any hesitation in the Liverpool defense, while Croatian international Aljosa Asanovic will relish the midfield contest against Barnes.

Having achieved his first win with Newcastle United Wednesday night, manager Kenny Dalglish will be looking for full points again today with the visit of Leicester City to St James' Park.

Bundled out of the F.A. Cup by Nottingham Forest, the Tyneside club, five points behind Manchester United, can now concentrate fully on the title race.

Concentration would appear the key to Newcastle's season, certainly among the defenders who were again guilty of conceding a goal to Everton Wednesday night. A four-goal blitz in the last sixteen minutes rescued the situation and could just be the turning point of the club's season.

In common with Newcastle, Aston Villa's season appears to have reached something of watershed. Having looked capable of sustaining a title challenge, it too has fallen away alarmingly in the past week.

Well beaten at Derby in the Cup, it lost at home to Sheffield Wednesday in midweek and now stands 11 points behind Manchester United at the top.

Peter Reid's workmanlike Sunderland side visits Villa Park today and will provide a stern test of character. If Villa still entertains hopes of a UEFA Cup place next season, it must look to take three points from the game.

Another with Europe on his mind, whether the UEFA or Cup Winners Cup, is Ruud Gullit, who takes his Chelsea side the short distance to White Hart Lane today for a showdown with Tottenham Hotspur.

Following his impact against Liverpool, Mark Hughes is likely to start the game against Spurs. Hughes, Vialli and Zola currently provide the most exhilarating sight in British football.

The White Hart Lane faithful have had their share of star forwards over the years and hope in the Norwegian Steffen Iversen to have unearthed another. Unfortunately his partnership with Teddy Sheringham has been put on hold for the moment, the England international hobbling out of a Spurs training session this week and probably out of England's upcoming World Cup qualifier with Italy.

Across London, Wimbledon tackles Middlesbrough in another beauty and the beast confrontation. the home side's physical approach and beastly aerial attack should be too much on the day for the beautiful but troubled game championed by the likes of Juninho and Emerson.

In the remaining Premiership games the theme is very much that of survival as Nottingham Forest goes in search of points against Everton. The visitors task is made that much easier with the midweek sale of unsettled Andrei Kanchelskis to Fiorentina for US$12 million. The money will be used to bolster Joe Royle's injury-hit side.

Coventry City helped its cause with a midweek win at Forest. With ambition of a UEFA Cup place, Sheffield Wednesday will provide much sterner opposition. As indeed will Blackburn Rovers which entertains struggling West Ham.