Unbeaten Manchester United achieves top spot
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): The rather sobering thought for the 19 other Premiership clubs in England is that Manchester United has achieved top spot four-and-a-half months and 18 games earlier than last season.
If that were not disillusioning enough, United's unbeaten route to the summit has been achieved with football still some way short of its imperious best.
Injuries to key strikers has not made life easy for manager Alex Ferguson. Damaged ankle ligaments have sidelined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since the start of the season, and illness and injury have accounted at various times for Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham and Jordi Cryuff.
Cole and either Sheringham or Karel Poborsky, who played in the 3-0 Champions' Cup victory over FC Kosice in Slovakia on Wednesday, look set to lead the line against Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.
The injury prone attack has added to the workload elsewhere. None more so than in midfield where Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and David Beckman have been outstanding. Superbly marshaled by Peter Schmeichel, the defense has played its part, too, conceding just one goal in six Premiership games.
With Blackburn set for a difficult away fixture at Tottenham, and Chelsea and Arsenal in a showdown at Stamford Bridge, Manchester United could well have extended its three-point lead by Sunday evening.
The honeymoon would appear over for Blackburn Rovers as defensive frailties saw Leeds score four times in the first 23 minutes last Sunday. The transfers of Henning Berg and Graeme Le Saux have left their mark.
The most potent weapon for Rovers remains its 13-goal strike force of Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher. Yet even here there are problems with news that chief provider, Stuart Ripley, will be sidelined for another four weeks following a hamstring injury sustained on England duty.
Stung by criticism of its dismal performance against Leicester last weekend, Tottenham will look to hit back in style. And in Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Jose Dominguez they have enough talent to cause Blackburn problems.
Another side severely hit by injuries, Tottenham have long term worries over Darren Anderton, Ramon Vega, Dean Austin and Andy Sinton. The good news though is that Chris Armstrong is fit again after nine months out with an ankle injury.
London derby
With both Chelsea and Arsenal involved in mid-week European ties, team selection for their London derby, by some distance the match of the weekend, will be left as late as possible.
Having not selected the same two strikers for consecutive games this season, the likelihood is that Chelsea manager, Ruud Gullit, will reunite Gianluca Vialli with Mark Hughes up front, play Gianfranco Zola just behind the strikers and relegate Tor Andre Flo to the bench.
With Tony Adams back for the mid-week UEFA Cup tie in Greece, Arsenal was able to field its first choice defense for the first time this season. Sunday will provide the ultimate test, however, as Adams, Steve Bould, Lee Dixon, and Nigel Winterburn look to stop a Chelsea attack that has scored 17 times this season.
Having missed the trip to Greece because of his fear of flying, Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp will look to his tally of five Premiership goals against a Chelsea defense that is occasionally prone to error.
Fifth place Leicester City, fresh from its creditable 2-1 defeat against Athletico Madrid in Spain Tuesday, make the considerably shorter journey to Elland Road tomorrow. The visitors work ethic will again be on the line as a rejuvenated Leeds United side look to add its win at Blackburn.
Beaten at old Trafford last week, West Ham United faces a Newcastle United side basking in the glow of European success. At the heart of Wednesday night's 3-2 Champions' Cup win over Barcelona was hat-trick hero, Faustino Asprilla.
The Colombian will ask questions of a West Ham side looking to strengthen its defense following the sale of Mark Reiper to Celtic for US$2.5 million. With Tony Adams back for Arsenal, the Premiership rumor mill has Steve Bould moving to Upton Park on a free transfer.
Faltered
Eight points behind Manchester United, but with a game in hand, Liverpool heads south for a meeting bottom club Southampton. Having looked set for a comfortable win against Celtic in the UEFA Cup on Tuesday, Liverpool faltered and was lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw thanks to a last minute Steve McManaman goal.
With Robbie Fowler and Oyvind Leonhardsen set for the substitutes bench, the only doubt is Mark Wright who injured his back against Celtic, Phil Babb stands by as a replacement. With Rob Jones having won the right back spot, speculation continues to mount over the future of Jason McAteer.
Having sold Jim Magilton to Sheffield Wednesday, Saints look even more lightweight. Morale has not been helped by the news that specialists have advised Matthew Le Tissier to delay his return to competitive football.
In other games this weekend, Wimbledon look to strong for Crystal Palace in the Selhurt derby; the Midlands affair between Aston Villa and Derby County has all the makings of a draw; in the basement, Sheffield Wednesday will have to work hard at home against Coventry City; while the Goodison faithful should have something to cheer about as Everton start favorites against Barnsley.