Over/Under 2.5 Goals Column: Old Trafford and Anfield in-focus
Ed Nicholson looks at a pair of key fixtures for two of the giants of English football “Given the return of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand to the heart of the United defence there must be every chance that Edwin Van der Saar will keep yet another clean sheet. If that was the case, we are asking the home side to score three times or more, which I feel is unlikely given the way that Fulham will be set up to play.” Manchester United v Fulham United looked toothless without Wayne Rooney last weekend when ultimately they were lucky to come away from Molineux with all three points. Much was expected of Dimitar Berbatov, but he looked poor and didn’t get into enough penetrating positions to score a goal. The Bulgarian is a frustrating figure and although he will score goals given the ammunition he is given, he is not one to rely on when thinking of being with the over 2.5 goal option. Undoubtedly Berbatov is better suited to playing at Old Trafford when all thoughts are on attack, but he still lacks confidence and if he was leading the attack I would be far happier to be layer rather than a backer of the over 2.5 goal option. United though, despite that 0-1 victory, are scoring in the league with 27 goals in their last ten – comfortably the most of any team in the league. At home they now netted 39 times and no team have conceded fewer than their total of eight. Their last six home league matches have been over 2.5 goal affairs (11 out of 14 in total), and they have not conceded a home goal for no less than 609 minutes
