Manchester United go into next weeks game against Chelsea needing a win after a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates today.

Man United starting XI- Van der Sar, Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Park, Carrick, Anderson, Nani, Hernandez and Rooney.

Subs- Kuszczak, Owen, Berbatov, Smalling, Rafael Da Silva, O'Shea and Valencia.

It was Arsenal who started brightly, their first chance came only minute into the game after Nemanja Vidic only half-cleared the ball, which fell to Jack Wilshere but he hit his effort wide. Then Theo Walcott came close after getting onto the end of a cross from Gael Clichy but he hit the ball over the bar.

Man United didn't threaten the Arsenal goal until the 20th minute, Luis Nani found Fabio Da Silva who ran into Arsenal's penalty area, he pulled the ball back towards Javier Hernandez but the ball was put behind from Arsenal for a corner.

Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute after Vidic handled the ball in the area. Walcott's ball into the area came off Vidic's outstretched arm and behind for a corner.

Man United were testing Wojciech Szczesny minutes into the second half. United were awarded a free-kick after Alexandre Song fouled Ji-Sung Park. Rooney took the free-kick, which was saved by Szczesny, the ball rebounded to Patrice Evra who hit the ball into the side-netting.

Man United made their first substitution on the 54th minute bringing on Antonio Valencia. A minute later, Arsenal took the lead. Robin Van Persie cut in from the right, he pulled the ball back to Aaron Ramsey who slotted the ball low into the corner.

A foul by Song on Evra started a fracas, the Arsenal player was booked. Park was booked a minute later after a high challenge on Bakari Sagna.

Man United wanted a penalty on the 66th minute after Walcott pulled down Evra in the penalty area but nothing was given.

Man United had another free-kick after Ramsey handled the ball, Rooney took the free-kick but it caught by Szczesny. With 14 minutes remaining, Szczesny parried away Nani's shot from 12 yards out.

A counter attack from Arsenal, Jack Wilshere found Van Persie, his cross into the area was missed by the Arsenal players. Then Arsenal had a free-kick from 22 yards out but the ball was hit straight into the arms of Edwin Van Der Sar.

The final substitution of the game for United was to bring on Michael Owen for Michael Carrick.

United should have been given a penalty on the 87th minute, Owen was brought down in the penalty area but Chris Foy waved away the penalty claims.

Four minutes were added on but Man United failed to score and now have to win against Chelsea next week. Man United are now only three points clear of Chelsea, they have the same goal difference so if the London side win at Old Trafford, they will go top of the table.

Man United have gone nine points clear of Arsenal and Chelsea with a 1-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford.

With one eye on the Champions League semi-final against Schalke on Tuesday, Sir Alex Ferguson made five changes to the side who played against Newcastle.

Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Fabio Da Silva, Darron Gibson and Antonio Valencia replaced Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs.

Starting XI: Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Fabio, Valencia, Gibson, Anderson, Nani, Rooney and Hernandez.

Subs: Kuszczak, Evra, Brown, Rafael, Carrick, Giggs and Owen.

For the first 10 minutes Man United were dominating the game but failing to test Tim Howard. The first meaningful attack came when Wayne Rooney played in Luis Nani down the left but Portuguese's shot was straight at Howard.

Man United were on top but still unable to create any notable chances. Rooney had a low cross in cleared by Phil Jagielka, that was followed by a poor shot from O'Shea, which went wide of the post.

25 minutes in a shot from Hernandez was finger-tipped behind by Howard for a corner. Soon after Gibson hit the ball well wide of the post. Minutes later Valencia picked out Rooney, who found Hernandez. The Mexican's shot was parried away by Howard.

Jermaine Beckford was calling for a penalty 10 minutes before half time after tangling with Evans in the penalty area. Beckford went down easily and the penalty correctly wasn't given.

Man United should have scored in the 38th minute. Valencia brushed Leighton Baines aside, he cut the ball back for Nani, his strike hit Hernandez and went wide.

During the second half, Everton had strong claims for a penalty after Victor Anichebe went down in the area after a challenge from Ferdinand but referee Peter Walton waved away the appeals.

Man United's first substitution was to bring on Evra, who replaces O'Shea.

Gibson with a shot from 25 yards out but his effort was blocked by Jagielka and went for a corner. From the resulting corner, Wayne Rooney had a shot blocked.

The second substitution by United was to bring on Michael Owen for Nani.

Everton started to put some pressure on the United goal, Leon Osman's cross in was cleared by Jonny Evans with Seamus Coleman ready to strike. Then a low shot by Jack Rodwell, which took a deflection off Evans brought out a great save from Edwin Van Der Sar.

Man United came very close to opening up the scoring after Owen hit the bar from six yards out.

The final sub made by United was to bring on Ryan Giggs for Gibson.

Man United were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out from goal, after Javier Hernandez was fouled. Rooney took it, his curling shot was tipped over the bar by Howard.

United continued to attack the Everton goal. Rooney had a shot go wide, Valencia had a shot blocked by Jagielka and then Howard saved an effort from Hernandez.

Man United finally took the lead with only seven minutes remaining. Valencia's cross towards the far post was headed in past Howard by Hernandez.

Three vital points were picked up by United. Next up in the league is Arsenal at the Emirates, that is followed by a league game against Chelsea at Old Trafford. In between those games are the two semi-final matches against Schalke in the Champions League.

Tomorrow lunchtime Man United take on Everton at Old Trafford in the Premier League. A win will take United nine points clear of Chelsea and Arsenal, who are both on 64 points.

Team News:

Rio Ferdinand was missing from United's draw against Newcastle with a calf strain but he may return tomorrow, along with Dimitar Berbatov who also missed the game.

Rafael Da Silva returns from injury but United are still missing Paul Scholes who is serving a three-match ban. Also out are Anders Lindegaard, Owen Hargreaves and Darren Fletcher.

Everton will be without Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini, Jose Baxter and Louis Saha, who are all out injured.

Most Recent Meeting

The two clubs last played each other back on the 11th September 2010, at Goodison Park. The match finished 3-3 after two very late injury time goals for Everton.

Steven Pienaar gave The Toffees a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute, four minutes later Darren Fletcher equalised for Man United. Nemanja Vidic scored United's second on the 47th minute and Dimitar Berbatov scored the third on the 66th minute. Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta scored for Everton in injury time.

Head-To-Head

Man United and Everton have played each other a total of 181 times. Man United have won 78 of those matches, lost 62 and there have been 41 draws.

163 of those matches have been League games. Man United have won 71 league matches against Everton, lost 53 and there have been 39 draws.

Recent Form

Man United- DLWWW

19th April- Newcastle 0-0 Man United (Premier League)
16th April- Man City 1-0 Man United (FA Cup)
12th April- Man United 2-1 Chelsea (Champions League)
9th April- Man United 2-0 Fulham (Premier League)
6th April- Chelsea 0-1 Man United (Champions League)

Everton- WWDWD

16th April- Everton 2-0 Blackburn (Premier League)
9th April- Wolves 0-3 Everton (Premier League)
2nd April- Everton 2-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
19th March- Everton 2-1 Fulham (Premier League)
9th March- Everton 1-1 Birmingham (Premier League)

Officials

Referee: Peter Walton

Assistant referees: Mike Cairns and Ron Ganfield

Fourth official: Kevin Friend

Walton has officiated two games involving Man United this season. They were the 2-2 away draw against Fulham and the 3-2 away win against Blackpool.

Walton has taken charge of four matches involving Everton, their 2-2 away draw against Everton, 2-1 away win against Man City, 2-2 home draw against West Ham and the 1-1 home draw against Birmingham.

Rivals

Chelsea play West Ham at Stamford Bridge in the Saturday evening kick-off. Arsenal play away against Bolton on Sunday.

Manchester United have extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points after a 0-0 draw against Newcastle.

Sir Alex Ferguson made five changes to the side that lost to Man City at the weekend. Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling, Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Javier Hernandez all returned to the starting line-up. Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov, Paul Scholes, Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park all made way.

Man United starting XI- Van der Sar; O'Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney and Hernandez.

Man United subs: Kuszczak, Evans, Fabio, Gibson, Park, Valencia and Owen.

Man United almost had a early goal after a fantastic ball by Wayne Rooney, found Javier Hernandez but a brilliant save by Tim Krul prevented the Mexican from scoring.

After that chance, Newcastle pressurised the Man United goal for a few minutes. A decent run from Jonas Gutierrez ended in him having a effort at goal, which was deflected away for a corner by Smalling. Man United eventually cleared the ball after Fabricio Coloccini headed it towards goal from a corner and Cheik Tiote hit his effort straight at Edwin Van Der Sar.

Newcastle may have been piling the pressure on United but it was the away side who had the two best chances of the first 20 minutes. The first was Hernandez' chance, the second fell to Rooney. The striker flicked the ball over Mike Williamson and went through on goal but his shot took a deflection off Krul and went over the bar. The referee didn't spot the deflection and Man United weren't awarded a corner.

Luis Nani wanted a penalty after going down in the area after a challenge from Gutierrez but the Portuguese went down far too easily and United weren't awarded a penalty.

Hernandez came close to scoring the opening goal, Giggs fed the ball through to the Mexican but Coloccini did well to take the ball off Hernandez. Peter Lovenkrands had a superb chance for Newcastle after being left unmarked but he nodded his header wide.

Man United got off to a good start in the second half. Nani's cross found Giggs, who had space in the penalty area but his header was straight at Krul.

The referee could have given Newcastle a penalty after a challenge from Anderson on Lovenkrands but Lee Probert waved play on. Minutes later Lovenkrands was involved in the play again, this time he headed the ball over the bar.

Man United had their own chances, Hernandez almost got onto the end of Anderson's long ball but Krul came off his line to collect the ball.

Giggs should have scored after Patrice Evra cut the ball back to him but the Welshman hit his left footed shot wide. Man United's first substitution was to bring on Antonio Valencia for Anderson.

Steven Ireland came on for Newcastle, nearly scoring with his first touch. Ameobi knocked the ball down for Ireland but the shot was hit narrowly wide. Not long after, Man United were awarded a free-kick, which was hit into the wall by Giggs and away for a corner. The resulting corner was played short to Nani, his right footed shot fell just wide of Krul's post.

Michael Owen came on for Man United with less than 10 minutes remaining, he replaced Nani.

There were four minutes of time added on. During that time it looked like United may have been awarded a penalty after Hernandez was fouled in the area, instead the Mexican was shown a yellow card.

Manchester United have the opportunity to put Saturday's 1-0 loss in the FA Cup to Manchester City behind them, with a win against Newcastle United.

Man United can go nine points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League, if they beat Newcastle at St James' Park tomorrow night.

Team News

Newcastle- Kevin Nolan will serve the second of his two-match ban but Cheik Tiote and James Perch will both return from suspension.

Ben Arfa is out with a broken leg, also out injured are Leon Best, Alan Smith and Dan Gosling. Shola Ameobi has been rated as doubtful.

Man United- Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans will both be available after completing their suspensions. Paul Scholes was sent off against Man City and will now have to serve a three-match ban.

Darren Fletcher is also unavailable for Man United, he is still recovering from illness. Owen Hargreaves, Rafael Da Silva and Anders Lindegaard are all out due to injury.

Most Recent Meeting

The two sides met back on the 16th August 2010, which was their first Premier League game of the 2010/11 season. Man United won the game 3-0 with goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs.


Head-To-Head

Man United and Newcastle have played each other 151 times. Man United have won 77 of those games, drawing 35 times and losing 39 of them.

Recent Form

Newcastle- LWLLD

10th April- Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle (Premier League)
2nd April- Newcastle 4-1 Wolves (Premier League)
19th March- Stoke 4-0 Newcastle (Premier League)
5th March- Newcastle 1-2 Everton (Premier League)
26th February- Newcastle 1-1 Bolton (Premier League)

Man United- LWWWW

16th April- Man City 1-0 Man United (FA Cup)
12th April- Man United 2-1 Chelsea (Champions League)
9th April- Man United 2-0 Fulham (Premier League)
6th April- Chelsea 0-1 Man United (Champions League)
2nd April- West Ham 2-4 Man United (Premier League)

Officials

Referee: Lee Probert
Assistant referees: Andy Halliday and Trevor Massey
Fourth official: Jon Moss

Probert has officiated 29 games this season, showing 69 yellow cards and six red cards.

He has refereed two matches involving Man United, which were the 7-1 win over Blackburn in the league and the 1-0 win over Crawley at Old Trafford in the FA Cup.

Probert has only refereed one game involving Newcastle, which was the 0-0 draw with Fulham in the league.

Manchester United have gone 10 points clear of Arsenal after a routine 2-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.

Team News:

Man United starting XI- Kuszczak, O'Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Gibson, Scholes, Anderson, Valencia, Nani and Berbatov.

Subs- Van Der Sar; Brown, Fabio, Carrick, Park, Hernandez and Owen.

Sir Alex Ferguson made eight changes to the side who beat Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday. Tomasz Kuszczak, John O'Shea, Chris Smalling, Darron Gibson, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov all came into the side.

The Game:

Fulham had an early effort, which was a 25-yard shot from Gael Kakuta but it was well saved by Kuszczak. Man United's first attempt on goal came from Nani, the ball was deflected over by Aaron Hughes and went for a corner.

Kuszczak had to make two good saves within the first five minutes, the second was a 20-yard shot from Moussa Dembele, Kuszczak punched the ball away for a corner.

Despite a sloppy start, it was Manchester United who took the lead in the 11th minute. Nani played a one-two with Anderson, who played in Berbatov and the Bulgarian scored from 10 yards out.

Anderson should have put United 2-0 up after a brilliant run by Berbatov, he squared the ball to Anderson but the Brazilian screwed his shot wide.

Man United continued to push for a second goal with both Antonio Valencia, Nani and Smalling all having chances.

Man United did have a second goal just after the half hour mark. Nani picked up the ball down the left, Mark Schwarzer came off his line, Nani went past him and hit the ball towards goal. Valencia was there to head the ball into an empty net.

Man United almost had a third just before half time. Valencia burst into the area he crossed the ball towards Berbatov but Hughes was there to clear, if he hadn't it would have been a simple tap-in for Berbatov.

Second half and Man United had another brilliant chance only two minutes in; Anderson's strike was palmed away by Schwarzer for a corner.

Bobby Zamora looked like he could trouble United in the 53rd minute but Kuszczak was quickly off his goal line to claim the ball. Immediately down the other end Berbatov shot wide from eight yards out.

Fulham had two chances in a matter of minutes. The first was a long range strike from Clint Dempsey, the ball was deflected away by Smalling. The second looked like it was in after an effort from Eidur Gudjohnsen. The ball hit the boards and hit the net behind the goal.

Anderson had another long range effort, this time from 25 yards out but it was a comfortable save for Schwarzer. Seconds later, Fulham were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the area after Nemanja Vidic was judged to have fouled Kakuta.

Man United went on to win the game 2-0 and are now 10 points clear of Arsenal, who play Blackpool tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon, Manchester United are back in Premier League action with a home game against Fulham after Wednesday's win against Chelsea in the Champions League.

Team News

Man United: Anderson, Wes Brown and John O'Shea have all recovered from injury and are available to play against Fulham.

Sir Alex Ferguson also confirmed that Rafael Da Silva won't be available for tomorrows game but he should have recovered in time for Tuesday's game against Chelsea.

United will be without Wayne Rooney, who will serve the first of a two-match ban. Also out are Darren Fletcher, Anders Lindegaard and Owen Hargreaves.

Fulham:

The away side may be without Damien Duff, who is struggling with an Achilles injury. Diomansy Kamara and Philippe Senderos are both out.

Aaron Hughes is fit despite picking up a head injury against Blackpool.

League Positions

Man United still sit top of the Premier League, seven points clear of seventh placed Arsenal, who have played a game less. Man United have played 31 games, taking 66 points in the process.

Fulham on the other hand are mid-table. The club are in 10th position after taking 38 points from 31 games.

Most Recent Meeting

The last time the two clubs played each other was back on the 22nd August, in the Premier League. The result from Craven Cottage was a 2-2 draw. Paul Scholes gave United the lead, Simon Davies equalised for Fulham. United took the lead again after an own goal from Brede Hangeland, who scored his second goal minutes later to earn Fulham a draw.

Head-To-Head

Manchester United and Fulham have played each other 71 times, which have seen 42 Man United wins, 13 Fulham wins and 16 draws.

61 of the 71 matches have been played in the league. Man United have won 35 of them, lost 12 times and there have been 14 draws.

Recent Form

Man United: WWWWW

6th April: Chelsea 0-1 Man United (Champions League)
2nd April: West Ham 2-4 Man United (Premier League)
19th March: Man United 1-0 Bolton (Premier League)
15th March: Man United 2-1 Marseille (Champions League)
12th March: Man United 2-0 Arsenal (FA Cup)

Fulham: WLWDL

3rd April: Fulham 3-0 Blackpool (Premier League)
19th March: Everton 2-1 Fulham (Premier League)
5th March: Fulham 3-2 Blackburn (Premier League)
27th February: Manchester City 1-1 Fulham (Premier League)
20th February: Fulham 0-1 Bolton (FA Cup)

Rivals

Arsenal don't play until Sunday, which is an away match against Blackpool. Chelsea are at home to Wigan on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester United had to come from 2-0 down to beat West Ham 4-2 and go eight points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League.

Team News:

Man United starting XI- Kuszczak, Fabio, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Gibson, Carrick, Giggs, Valencia, Park and Rooney.

Man United subs- Amos, Owen, Anderson, Berbatov, Hernandez, Nani and Gill.

There was no Edwin Van Der Sar, who was being rested as a precaution ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match against Chelsea. Van Der Sar had been suffering from a slight groin strain.

The Game:

Chris Smalling had Manchester United's first opportunity, his header from Ryan Giggs' corner was pushed over the bar by West Ham keeper Rob Green.

West Ham were awarded a penalty in the 10th minute after the ball was handled in the area by Patrice Evra. Mark Noble converted the penalty and gave the home side the lead.

The Hammers had a 2-0 lead within 24 minutes after being awarded a second penalty. Nemanja Vidic was judged to have fouled Carlton Cole in the area, Noble stepped up again and scored his second penalty of the game.

Green preserved West Ham's 2-0 lead; Wayne Rooney found Ji-Sung Park but his 16-yard effort was turned away for a corner by the keeper.

Thomas Hitzlesperger could have given West Ham a 3-0 lead after getting on the end of a cross in by Gary O'Neill, but his shot was high and wide.

With only five minutes of the first half remaining, Vidic could have been shown a red card after hauling down Demba Ba. Vidic was the last defender but United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak would have beaten Ba to the ball, so he didn't deny West Ham a goalscoring opportunity.

Despite dominating play, Man United found themselves going into half time 2-0 down after two mistakes.

Sir Alex Ferguson made an immediate change for the second half bringing on Javier Hernandez for Evra. Hernandez had United's first chance of the second half, volleying wide only minutes in.

With United still 2-0 down the next substitution was Dimitar Berbatov on for Park.

Seconds after that substitution Man United were awarded a free-kick, which they scored from. Rooney took the free-kick, which curled past Green and gave United a lifeline.

Immediately after Rooney's goal, Carrick came close from a corner but his flick went inches over the crossbar.

Rooney scored his 100th goal for Man United and United's second goal of the game on the 73rd minute. Rooney received the ball from Antonio Valencia and fired the ball low and past Green.

Man United continued to attack West Ham's goal; Berbatov had a shot parried by Green and then had a penalty awarded in their favour. Matthew Upson was penalised for handball and Rooney stepped up and scored his hat-trick.

It was game over in the 84th minute after Hernandez scored his fourth. Berbatov found Giggs', his effort towards goal was poked in by Hernandez, which competed Man United's amazing comeback.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has had his say on the Premier League's plan to cut down on abusive behaviour towards referees.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has announced that from the start of next season, the Premier League hopes to get clubs to crackdown on “unacceptable” behaviour by players and managers towards referees.

Sir Alex Ferguson is currently serving a five-game touchline ban for comments made about referee Martin Atkinson, but he insists that there is no issue.

Speaking at Friday's press conference, Sir Alex said: “Richard Scudamore hasn't got an awful lot to do, doesn't he? He's trying to elevate the Premier League - fine, that's good, that's his job.

“I don't think managers disrespect referees. I got fined for what I thought was a fair comment. He didn't, he gave me a five-match ban, that's fine.

“But there's a difference to say that we don't respect referees”

"They've got a difficult job, we all know that. You wouldn't referee a game, would you? Neither would I. And we do need them.

“But I think Richard is diving off a high board here without thinking about it.”

After an International break, Manchester United return to Premier League action with an away game against West Ham.

Team News

West Ham:

The Hammers are hoping to have Scott Parker available for tomorrows game after picking up shoulder and calf injuries whilst playing for England.

Robbie Keane will return to the squad after missing the 0-0 draw against Tottenham due to not being able to play against his parent club. Frederic Piquionne will also return to the squad after recovering from a foot injury.

Jack Collinson and Junior Stanislas will both miss the game.

Man United:

Nemanja Vidic is fit after playing 90 minutes for Serbia, also fit is Michael Owen. Anderson and Ji-Sung Park will both travel down to London.

Jonny Evans is not available to due to suspension after being shown a red card against in United's last league game against Bolton.

Rio Ferdinand has returned to training but will not play tomorrow. Rafael Da Silva has also returned to training and also will not be involved tomorrow. Wes Brown and John O'Shea are both expected to return to training on Monday. Darren Fletcher is still out with a virus but may return to training on Monday.


League Positions

Man United are top of the Premier League table, five points ahead of their closest rivals Arsenal, but United have played an extra game.

West Ham are sitting just above the relegation zone, level on points with 18th place Wolves.

Both Man United and West Ham have played 30 games in the League, Man United have picked up 63 points and West Ham have picked up 32 points.

Man United and West Ham played each other in the league at Old Trafford back in August, which United won 3-0. Wayne Rooney (penalty), Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov were the goal scorers.

Most Recent Meeting

The two sides played each other on the 20th November in the Carling Cup, which saw West Ham thrash United 4-0 at Upton Park.

West Ham went through to the Carling Cup semi-finals thanks to goals from Jonathan Spector (x2) and Carlton Cole (x2).

Head-To-Head

There have been 121 matches played between the two clubs, which have seen 55 Man United wins, 42 West Ham wins and 24 draws.

Out of the 121 matches 111 of them have been league games. Man United have won 51 of the league games, lost 37 of them and there have been 23 draws.

Recent Form

West Ham: DLWWW

19th March: Tottenham 0-0 West Ham (Premier League)
13th March: Stoke 2-1 West Ham (FA Cup)
5th March: West Ham 3-0 Stoke (Premier League)
27th February: West Ham 3-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
21st February: West Ham 5-1 Burnley (FA Cup)

Man United: WWWLL

19th March: Man United 1-0 Bolton (Premier League)
15th March: Man United 2-1 Marseille (Champions League)
12th March: Man United 2-0 Arsenal (FA Cup)
6th March: Liverpool 3-1 Man United (Premier League)
1st March: Chelsea 2-1 Man United (Premier League)

Officials

Referee: Lee Mason
Assistants: Darren Cann and Patrick Keane
Fourth Official: Stuart Atwell

Lee Mason has officiated 26 games this season, showing 104 yellow cards and five red cards.

Mason has refereed two games involving Man United this season, which were the 3-2 home win against Wolves in the Carling Cup and the 1-1 draw away to Birmingham in the league.

He has also refereed two games involving West Ham, their 1-1 away draw against Stoke and the 3-3 away draw against West Brom.

Rivals

Arsenal are at home to Blackburn in Saturday's evening kick-off. Chelsea are away to Stoke, Tottenham are away to Wigan and Manchester City play on Sunday, which is a home game against Sunderland.

Manchester United's week has gone from bad to worse after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield.

Man United Squad:

Starting Line-Up: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Smalling, Brown, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Berbatov and Rooney.

Substitutes: Kuszczak, Hernandez, Fabio, O'Shea, Fletcher, Obertan, Gibson.

The Game:

Liverpool put Man United under pressure from very early on, Raul Meireles cross found Luis Suarez, who was unable to collect the ball and Edwin Van Der Sar collected. Maxi Rodriguez also had an early effort but he dragged his shot well wide.

Man United started to settle down more, just after 15 minutes Dimitar Berbatov's 25 strike hit the outside of Pepe Reina's post. That was immediately followed by another chance for Liverpool, Suarez' ball into the box was nodded back in front of goal by Meireles but Dirk Kuyt was unable to get onto the end it.

Liverpool had their first goal in the 34th minute. Suarez beat Rafael Da Silva, Michael Carrick and Wes Brown, he then hit the ball past Van Der Sar and Dirk Kuyt was there to make sure the ball went over the line.

It didn't take long for them to get their second after some awful defending by United. A cross into the area was headed backward by Luis Nani, which set up Kuyt and he capatalised on Nani's error and gave Liverpool a two goal cushion.

Just before half time a terrible, high challenge by Jamie Carragher on Nani resulted in the Portuguese winger being stretchered off. Carragher should have been shown a red card, but somehow got away with it and was only shown a yellow. That was followed by a few minutes of chaos, there were a few scuffles and Van Der Sar talked his way into the book.

Then a challenge by Rafael Da Silva on Lucas created some more scuffles. Rafael was shown a yellow card, he was very lucky not to receive a red card.

The first chance of the second half fell to Liverpool, Kuyt fed the ball to Steven Gerrard, he decided to shoot but the ball was blocked by Wes Brown.

Five minutes into the second half, there was an opportunity for both sides. The first saw Suarez find Meireles but Van Der Sar grabbed the ball. That was then followed by a chance for Javier Hernandez, who had replaced Nani but he was unable to get his shot on target.

Ryan Giggs came close to pulling on back for United, unfortunately his half-volley flew over the bar. United started to dominate possession, just before the hour mark, United nearly pulled a goal back. A United corner ended with Berbatov's header being cleared off the line.

Just as Man United were looking like they could possibly get back into the game, another defensive error lead to a hat-trick for Kuyt. A free-kick taken by Suarez was split by Van Der Sar, Kuyt was there to score Liverpool's third.

With the game basically over, not much really happened until injury time. Three minutes had been added on and United scored a consolation goal. Giggs' chipped a cross in and Hernandez headed the ball past Reina.

Liverpool won the game 3-1, Man United are three points ahead of Arsenal but have played a game extra.

Next up for Manchester United is an FA Cup game against Arsenal, next Saturday at Old Trafford.

After a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea midweek, Manchester United will be aiming to bounce back with a win against Liverpool on Sunday.

Team News

Liverpool's £35 million signing Andy Carroll is set to make his debut after returning to training after an injury.
Fabio Aurelio and Daniel Agger are expected to return, Raul Meireles has been rated as doubtful. Martin Kelly has torn his hamstring and will be out for a month.

Man United have many injuries to contend with. United will be without Rio Ferdinand (calf injury), Jonny Evans (ankle injury) and Nemanja Vidic (suspended) so Wes Brown will line-up alongside Chris Smalling at the heart of United's defence. Also missing are Anderson, Antonio Valencia, Owen Hargreaves and Ji-Sung Park. Patrice Evra picked up a slight injury against Chelsea, his fitness will be checked ahead of the game.

League Positions

Liverpool are currently sixth in the table, 21 points behind Man United who are the league leaders.

The Merseyside club have picked up 39 points from 28 games, compared to Man United who have 60 points from 28 games.

Previous Game

Man United and Liverpool have already played each other twice this season, once in the league and once in the FA Cup.

The most recent was in the FA Cup at Old Trafford, which United won 1-0 after a very early penalty, scored by Ryan Giggs. Steven Gerrard was sent off in the 32nd minute.


Head-To-Head

There have been a total of 181 games played between the two clubs. Man United have won 71 of the 181 games, there have been 60 Liverpool wins and 50 draws.

155 of the 181 games have been played in the league, United have won 60 of those games, lost 52 and there have been 43 draws.

Recent Form

Liverpool : LWDDW

27th Feb: West Ham 3-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
24th Feb: Liverpool 1-0 Sparta Prague (Europa League)
17th Feb: Sparta Prague 0-0 Liverpool (Europa League)
12th Feb: Liverpool 1-1 Wigan (Premier League)
6th Feb: Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (Premier League)

Man United: LWDWW

1st March: Chelsea 2-1 Man United (Premier League)
26th Feb: Wigan 0-4 Man United (Premier League)
23rd Feb: Marseille 0-0 Man United (Champions League)
19th Feb: Man United 1-0 Crawley (FA Cup)
12th Feb: Man United 2-1 Man City (Premier League)

Officials

Referee: Phil Dowd
Assistants: Dean Mohareb & Glenn Turner
Fourth Official: Andre Marriner

Phil Dowd has officiated 27 games so far this season, showing 102 yellow cards and nine red cards.

Dowd has refereed three games involving Man United this season; the 2-2 away to Bolton, 2-1 win over Wolves at Old Trafford and most recent was the 2-0 win over Sunderland.

He has refereed four games involving Liverpool; their 3-0 loss to Man City, the 2-1 win over Blackburn, 3-0 win over Aston Villa and the 2-2 at home to Everton.

Rivals

Arsenal played Sunderland this afternoon at the Emirates, which ended in a 0-0 draw . Manchester City play Wigan in Saturday's evening kick off. Chelsea don't play Blackpool until Monday .

Tonight Chelsea came from behind to beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Wayne Rooney gave Man United the lead in the first half but two goals from Chelsea fought back in the second half with two goals to win the game.

Man United Squad:

Starting Line-Up: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Hernandez and Rooney.

Bench: Kuszczak, Brown, Berbatov, Giggs, Fabio Da Silva, Rafael Da Silva and Gibson.

The Game:

Chelsea got off to a good start, they had the ball in the back of the net within minutes after a corner, Branislav Ivanovic volleyed the ball in but the goal was ruled out because of a foul by David Luiz. Soon after that chance Florent Malouda forced a save out of Edwin Van Der Sar after hitting his strike from 15-yards out.

Chelsea then had another two chances within the opening 15 minutes, Michael Essien's shot was deflected wide for a corner, from that corner John Terry's header flew over the bar.

Man United started to put some pressure on the Chelsea defence, Patrice Evra got past Luiz, his cross in didn't reach Wayne Rooney but was collected by Darren Fletcher, his cross was cleared.

20 minutes in a cross by Luis Nani was headed wide by Rooney, who should have done much better. Man United were all over Chelsea and the striker did do much better when he gave United the lead after smashing a 25-yard strike past Petr Cech.

Just before half time, from a Chelsea free-kick taken by Frank Lampard, Van Der Sar made the save but parried it straight to Ivanovic, he hit the ball towards goal but luckily for United Nemanja Vidic was on the line and managed to clear it.

Chelsea got themselves an equaliser eight minutes into the second half after United failed to clear from a corner after Luiz got on the end of a flick on by Nicolas Anelka, and hit the ball past Van Der Sar.

63 minutes into the game, Man United did have the ball in the back of the net through Rooney but he was ruled offside.

With the game at 1-1 Sir Alex Ferguson brought Dimitar Berbatov on for Javier Hernandez and Ryan Giggs on for Paul Scholes.

Chelsea were very lucky to be awarded a penalty with just over 10 minutes of the game remaining. Yuri Zhirkov went down under a challenge by Chris Smalling and were awarded a penalty, Lampard hit the ball past Van Der Sar to give the home side a lead.

Chelsea should have gone 3-1 up from a corner, the ball was hit towards goal by Zhirkov, fortunately for United Vidic managed to clear.

Things went from bad to worse for Man United in injury time when Vidic was shown a second yellow card and sent off, which means he misses United's next game, which is against Liverpool.

A very disappointing result for Man United, Chelsea were very lucky to have Luiz on the pitch at the end of the game. Next up in the league is another massive game, this time against Liverpool.

Reaction:

Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson: "We defended badly for the first goal, but the penalty kick is so soft, dear me. We played really well and we didn't deserve that. Three years in a row here decisions have changed the game."

Sir Alex on Luiz: "He's done Chicarito before he got booked, and he did Rooney two minutes before the penalty was awarded, I don't know how he was still on the pitch. The players have endured a lot of decisions against them and they didn't deserve that tonight. Chelsea aren't out of the title race if they keep getting decisions like that."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti:
"It was a good performance and we're still alive. Man United are fantastic, they played really well, but we managed to keep going bven at 1-0 down, played with power and intensity, and without playing really well you cannot beat this team. In the middle of the first half they were playing very well and in that moment we were in difficulty, but we played better in the second half. David Luiz could be lucky, but a lot of things were going on so it's difficult for the referee."

Both Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole will be available for their respective clubs for the clash between Chelsea and Man United on Tuesday.

Rooney will face Chelsea after the Football Association confirmed that they will take no action against the player, following an elbow on Wigan's James McCarthy.

The FA were waiting for referee Mark Clattenburg's report before deciding whether or not to charge Rooney. Clattenburg said that he saw the incident in it's entirety at the time and that he believes that he took appropriate action, which means that the FA cannot punish Rooney.

Cole was in the papers again this weekend after it was alleged that he shot
a sports science student with an air rifle, which caused heavy bleeding to the students leg. Cole has been accused of letting the club down with his unprofessional behaviour but his manager has insisted that the player in in the right frame of mind.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti told reporters: “He will play tomorrow, yes. Obviously we are not happy with what happened but I have spoken with him”.

“He was really disappointed and said sorry. He made a mistake. Obviously he stepped over the line about rules.

“It was an accident and we have taken the proper action. He will play and is focused to play a good game.”

Tuesday night Manchester United will take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. United haven't won at Stamford Bridge since the 20th April 2002 when they beat Chelsea 3-0 with goals from Paul Scholes, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

This fixture was postponed back in December due to weather conditions. At the time Sir Alex Ferguson said said the match was “probably the most important game of the season”. With Chelsea now 15 points behind Man United in the title race, realistically Chelsea can not win the title.

Team News

Chelsea don't have many injury problems, they will only be without Alex and Yossi Benayoun. Yury Zhirkov should return to the squad after recovering from an injury.

Wayne Rooney will be available for Man United after it was confirmed that the FA will not face any action after appearing to elbow Wigan's James McCarthy at the weekend.

Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans are both still out injured so Chris Smalling will continue to partner Nemanja Vidic in heart of United's defence. Also out with injuries are Ji-Sung Park, Anderson, Antonio Valencia and Owen Hargreaves.

Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen are rated as doubtful.

League Positions

Man United beat Wigan 4-0 over the weekend meanwhile Chelsea had the weekend off because they were due to play Birmingham, who were involved in the Carling Cup final.

Manchester United are four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table with 60 points from 27 games.

Last season's league winners Chelsea on the other hand aren't having the best of seasons. The London side are down in fifth position after playing 27 games and picking up 45 points.

Previous Game

The last game played between the two sides was back on the 8th August 2010 in the FA Community Shield. Man United beat Chelsea 3-1 with goals from Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov. Salomon Kalou scored the only goal for Chelsea.

Head-To-Head

Manchester United and Chelsea have played each other a total of 157 times, which have seen 67 Man United wins, 43 Chelsea wins and 47 draws. Out of the 157 matches, 136 of those have been played in the league. Man United have beaten Chelsea 56 times in the league, lost 39 times and there have been 41 draws.

Recent Form

Chelsea: WLDLW

22nd Feb: FC Copenhagen 0-2 Chelsea (Champions League)
19th Feb: Chelsea 1-1 Everton- Everton won 4-3 on penalties (FA Cup)
14th Feb: Fulham 0-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
6th Feb: Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
1st Feb: Sunderland 2-4 Chelsea (Premier League

Man United: WDWWL

26th Feb: Wigan 0-4 Man United (Premier League
23rd Feb: Marseille 0-0 Man United (Champions League)
19th Feb: Man United 1-0 Crawley (FA Cup)
12th Feb: Man United 2-1 Man City (Premier League)
5th Feb: Wolves 2-1 Man United (Premier League)


Officials

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistants: Peter Kirkup and Mike Mullarkey
Fourth Official: Chris Foy

Atkinson has refereed 28 games this season, he has shown 94 yellow cards and nine red cards. He has officiated three games involving Man United, which were the 3-3 draw away to Everton, the 2-0 win over Wigan at Old Trafford and most recently the 2-1 away win in the FA Cup against Southampton.

Atkinson has also refereed three games involving Chelsea; their 2-0 win at home to Stoke, the 1-0 home win against Fulham and their 2-0 home win against Blackburn.

Man United have gone four points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League table after a 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

Man United Squad:

Starting Line-Up: Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Smailling, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Rooney and Hernandez.

Bench: Kuszczak, Brown, Berbatov, Fabio, Rafael, Gibson and King

The Game:

Wigan got off to the better start and should have taken the lead 12 minutes in, a mistake by Paul Scholes was pounced on by Victor Moses, who was clean through on goal but Edwin Van Der Sar made the save.

Despite their poor start, it was Man United who took the lead. Luis Nani's run down the left, his cross into the area was brilliantly finished by Javier Hernandez. Immediately after the goal, Wigan should have equalised but Van Der Sar managed to block James McCarthy's effort.

A fantastic move by Man United nearly resulted in a 2-0 lead after Rooney found Nani, he shot, his effort had the keeper beaten but hit the inside of the post.

Second half and the Latics were still causing Man United problems, with Van Der Sar coming to the rescue again after saving a strike from Maynor Figueroa.

10 minutes into the second half Man United started to put a bit more pressure on the Wigan goal. Nani should have scored but his striker was well saved by Ali Al Habsi. That was followed by another strike by Nani after receiving the ball from Hernandez but he hit his effort wide. Then Nani had another shot saved by Al Habsi, the keeper parried the ball in the direction of Rooney, who laid it off to Fletcher but Wigan somehow managed to clear the ball.

A long ball by Van Der Sar found Hernandez, who found Rooney, his superb pass back to the Mexican was slotted past Al Habsi by Hernandez.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Dimitar Berbatov was brought on for Hernandez and Darron Gibson came on for Scholes.

A great ball from Gibson found Berbatov, he ran down the right and unselfishly found Rooney, who tapped the ball into an empty goal.

Man United's final substitution saw Fabio Da Silva come on for Nani. Fabio's first touch of the ball was to smash the ball past Al Habsi to give United a 4-0 lead.

The game finished 4-0 to Man United, a flattering scoreline but very important result with a massive game against Chelsea on Tuesday.

After a disappointing 0-0 draw against Marseille midweek, Manchester United turn their attention back to the Premier League, with an away game against Wigan Athletic.

Team News

Wigan don't have many injury problems, both Emmerson Boyce and Callum McManaman are doubtful. Tom Cleverley will not play as he is ineligible to play against his parent club.

Man United will be without Anderson, Ji-Sung Park, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Antonio Valencia. Ryan Giggs may recover in time to play, Michael Owen may also be available to play after returning to training following a hamstring injury.

League Positions

Wigan currently sit in the relegation zone after taking 27 points from 27 games this season. The Latics have only won one of their last nine games. They have the worst defensive home record in the league after conceding 26 goals, they have also only won three league games at the DW Stadium this season.

Man United are currently top of the table picking up 57 points from 26 games. United are now only one point ahead of Arsenal, who beat Stoke 1-0 in the league during the week. Man United have played a game less but the game in hand is against Chelsea. Man United's away record this season has been terrible, they have only won three league games away from home.

Previous Game

The most recent meeting between the two sides was on the 20th November 2010, in a league game at Old Trafford. Man United won the game 2-0 with goals from Patrice Evra and Javier Hernandez, Wigan finished the game with nine men after Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega were sent off.

Head-To-Head

There have been a total of 12 games in all competitions played between the two clubs. Manchester United have won all 12 matches, scoring 37 goals and conceding only four.

Recent Form

Wigan: LDWDD

16th Feb: Wigan 0-1 Bolton (FA Cup)
12th Feb: Liverpool 1-1 Wigan (Premier League)
5th Feb: Wigan 4-3 Blackburn (Premier League)
1st Feb: West Brom 2-2 Wigan (Premier League)
29th Jan: Bolton 0-0 Wigan (FA Cup)

Man United: DWWLW

23rd Feb: Marseille 0-0 Man United (Champions League)
19th Feb: Man United 1-0 Crawley (FA Cup)
12th Feb: Man United 2-1 Man City (Premier League)
5th Feb: Wolves 2-1 Man United (Premier League)
1st Feb: Man United 3-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)

Officials

Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistants: Mick McDonough and Andy Newbold
Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor

Clattenburg has refereed 30 games this season, showing 92 yellow cards and seven red cards.

He has officiated games involving Man United this season; the 3-0 win against West Ham in the league, the 2-0 win over Tottenham, the 4-0 loss to West Ham in the Carling Cup and the 2-1 win over Stoke.

Clattenburg has only refereed one game involving Wigan this season, which was the 3-2 away win in the FA Cup against Hull City.

Rivals:

Arsenal are not in action in the league this weekend, they will be playing Birmingham City at Wembley on Sunday in the Carling Cup final.

Chelsea aren't playing at all, their next game in against Man United at Stamford Bridge on the 1st March. Third place Man City have a home game against Fulham on Sunday.

Manchester United have gone seven points clear in the Premier League table after a 2-1 win over City rivals Manchester City, at Old Trafford.

The Man United starting XI was: Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Vidic, Smalling, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, Giggs and Rooney.

There was a glorious chance for Man City's David Silva only three minutes in after Ryan Giggs had played him onside but fortunately for United, he poked it just wide of the post.

10 minutes in Luis Nani came close to opening up the scoring, he cut in from the right but his strike on goal flew just over Joe Hart's bar.

Just after the half hour mark there was some improvement in United's play with both Fletcher and Nani forcing saves out of Hart. The first came from Fletcher but his header was comfortably saved by Hart and then two efforts came from Nani, his first was saved by Hart and his second was way off target.

Nani opened the scoring, Edwin Van Der Sar's long ball found Wayne Rooney, who flicked the ball to Ryan Giggs. Giggs' through ball was finished off superbly by Nani to give United the lead.

Manchester City equalised with 25 minutes remaining. Shaun Wright-Phillips low ball in was hit by Edin Dzeko, the ball took a deflection off Silva and past Van Der Sar. Dimitar Berbatov was immediately brought on for Anderson by Sir Alex Ferguson after the City goal.

Wayne Rooney scored what turned out to be the winner with 13 minutes remaining. Nani crossed the ball into the penalty area from the right, Rooney's fantastic overhead kick flew into the top corner of the goal.

Third place Manchester City are now eight points behind United in the table, having played a game extra. Second place Arsenal play Wolves in the afternoon kick off at the Emirates, Chelsea don't play Fulham until Monday.