The Full English: Against The Wall

Wayne Rooney | No Rooney? No problem.

After choking against Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday, I am sure that the last team that Rafa wanted to take on this weekend was the Red Devils. Winning games the way they normally do, Manchester United are near the top of their game. I wouldn’t say they have hit their top gear just yet, but their momentum is a slow build that peaks at all the right times, it seems.

Luckily for the home side, Manchester United are in serious danger of being without their best player, Wayne Rooney. Suffering from a niggle that he picked up during the international break, Rooney has been United’s key man this season and without him, the Red Devils are an entirely different entity. What it does mean is that Michael Owen could be in line for his triumphant return to Anfield, where he’ll no doubt get booed emphatically.

If you’re Sir Alex, you’d take the tradeoff he’s getting in this one as it appears as though both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard won’t be fit enough for the match. To say that the Reds finishing without the pair wasn’t up to snuff is a huge understatement. They just looked lost against Sunderland and didn’t look a threat to score until late on.

Despite saying his job is safe, the Reds brass will be poised by the panic button if Liverpool drop this match at home. If it’s bad, 3-1 or the like, I think Rafa could seriously be out of a job. We shall see.

TFE Prediction: I think United have the quality to undo a very timid Liverpool squad in what could be Rafa’s last match in charge. I’m saying 2-1.

Birmingham vs. Sunderland (St. Andrews Stadium, October 24th, 10:00 a.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel)

I can’t help it, but I’m a sucker for stories like this. The sappy, ‘manager-returns-to-face-his-old-club-that-he-helped-quite-a-bit-then-moved-on-to-bigger-things’ type story. Steve Bruce, if you didn’t know, managed Birmingham from 2001-2007 and even played for them for two seasons after his Manchester United days ended.

Steve Bruce | The tough times are behind him, apparently.

Bruce was no slouch as a player, netting 81 goals as a center back (though they came over a whopping 737 matches), and his prowess on the field has transitioned into a nice little managerial career. Often considered the heir-apparent to Sir Alex at Old Trafford, Bruce has Sunderland flying high in the league with their win over Liverpool last weekend being the high point to date.

Sitting on 16 points from nine matches, the Black Cats are making moves in seventh place and could push for Europe if they keep things up as we really get movin’ with this campaign. Traveling to an always-hostile St. Andrews won’t be easy, despite the fact that B’rum find themselves teetering just above the drop zone in 17th place.

Yet to show any consistency, the Blues have only managed two wins this season, both against teams below them in the table. That’ll have to change if they want to stay in the EPL for another season. Scoring some goals would help as well as Alex McLeish has only managed to squeeze six goals out of his side in nine games. Yikes.

It comes down to quality, and right now, Sunderland have the edge in that part of the game. They’ll take the game to Birmingham and will attempt to unleash DBtheTruth (formally known as Darren Bent...that’s his Twitter username and the only way to refer to him in my opinion) on a shoddy back four. If he has his way, Bent could easily net a pair, easily.

TFE Prediction: Sunderland make the St. Andrews return a good one for their manager by taking care of Birmingham 3-1.

West Ham vs. Arsenal (Upton Park, October 25th, 12:15 a.m. ET)

Talk about managers on the hot seat, if Rafa Benitez is at the top of the list, Gianfranco Zola is right there with him. Quite a shame to see, but West Ham have just been dismal this season, certainly a far cry from their ninth-place form from a year ago.

Sitting snugly in 19th place above only a ghastly Portsmouth side, West Ham have some serious problems on their hands. Not only are they playing poorly on the field, their finances seem to be nonexistent. Excellent stuff.

I’m going to guess that welcoming Arsenal to town isn’t the remedy. Not in the least.

Andrey Arshavin | Arsene, shush! We have to stop scoring at some point…

Counted out of the big four before the season started (myself being one of those naysayers), the Gunners are on something of a hot streak. Again, an understatement. They’ve scored more goals on the road, 10, then nine teams have scored all season. They’ve scored more goals this season, 27, then the combined efforts of the newly promoted teams, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Burnley, 23. The offense is clicking, for sure.

Unfortunately if claret and blue are two of your favorite colors, those just mentioned figures will only look more shocking after this weekend. I have a feeling things could get ugly at Upton. Real ugly.

TFE Prediction: If Arsenal don’t go back to Emirates with at least four goals to speak of, I’d be surprised. I’m going 4-1 Gunners.

The Toast (as in Of The EPL): The “Teams That Wear Red and Play Each Other On Sunday” Edition

Alberto Aquilani, Liverpool: Is this guy ever going to play? He could be just what the Reds need to get things going. His touch of quality will work with Stevie G in the middle, perhaps taking some of the pressure off of the Englishman’s gifted shoulders. Anytime a team spends £20 million on a player, you expect him to make an impact and improve the team. Not Aquilani’s fault exactly, but not being on the field is not a good way to wow anyone.

Igor Akinfeev, CSKA Moscow: The next Peter Schmeichel? Could be. Sir Alex Ferguson has made it all too obvious that he admires the talent of this young Russian. Twice the keeper that Ben Foster and Tomaz Kuzsczak are, Akinfeev could do some wonderful things in between the sticks at Old Trafford. If Foster isn’t able to eliminate the silly mistakes from his game over the next month or two, look for Ferguson to finally splash some of that Ronaldo cash this January.

Bob Kraft, New England Patriots: Out with one American, in with another? The wily businessman, who owns one of my most-hated sports franchises is apparently interested in buying stake in Liverpool Football Club. How do you think the scousers on Merseyside will react to that news? I’m going to say, not well. In my opinion, money is money, but things have been rocky with the current owners and English footy fans aren’t exactly forgiving.

Leicester Update

Edgar Davids. That’s right, Edgar Davids. The former Juventus and Barcelona strong man could be on his way to Walkers Stadium. Talks have apparently been going on for a few weeks between the club and Dutch midfielder’s reps. Good news for the Foxes. Instantly adding a whole heap of class and experience, Davids would fit right in to our promotion-hopeful plans. What I like most about this is that the intentions are there. The money is there to be spent and the management aren’t going to rest on their laurels for another so-so year in anything other than the top flight. Love it. Oh, and we’re winning, too. Another clean sheet on Tuesday as Paul Gallagher’s double put the Foxes over Crystal Palace 2-0. That’s only one goal allowed in the last four fixtures. Brilliant stuff.

Edgar Davids | Rockin' the rec specs at Walkers? Yes, please!

And Finally...The Black Pudding of the Week

The Full English, Shane Evans: I didn’t even realize it until it hit me the other day, but this Friday’s edition marked the one-year anniversary of my first ever Full English. One whole year of the most witty, back-handed footy predictions and random quips this side of Filbert Street. How can you thank me?! No need, as I am the one who needs to be thanking you, my readers. Without you all taking the time to read my columns every week, I wouldn’t have made it a month, let alone a year. Being that I’m all about nostalgia, click here to read the first ever version of The Full English. I’ve come quite a great distance. So thanks again for sticking with me this whole time, hopefully by this time next year I’ll be at Bill Simmons status.

Shane Evans is an Associate Editor of Goal.com. His feature, "The Full English" appears every Friday morning. Contact Shane at shane.evans@goal.com with questions, comments and concerns or follow him on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/shanevans

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