Man Utd. v Valencia

Man Utd. could set a pretty impressive record tonight; to become the first ever team to complete the group stage without conceding a goal. If that's not reason enough to go for a win then maybe avoiding Barcelona and Real Madrid in the next round is? Perhaps they will play conservatively in order to avoid defeat? This could well allow Valencia a greater share of possession than normal.  The breaking news is that Rooney and Berbatov start. This would suggest attacking intentions by Ferguson and so I'm recommending a 4/1 split in favour of the home team.

Man Utd. have been much discussed on these pages before, the midfield is usually the key with Scholes, Fletcher and Carrick all Picklive favourites. Carrick's average of 44.8 looks lower than it should be as it includes a 15 and a 7 which can both be ignored. The full-backs often do well but a centre back like Ferdinand can dominate the passing from the back and so should be considered carefully. Nani has his moments, averages over 50 and is capable of huge scores. Rooney also has a great average (49.7) but that masks a wide range of scores and whilst you could pick up an 84 or 80 you could end up with a 43, 36, 28 and 27 - which could leave your Big Game team struggling or storming ahead!

Valencia have been on more recently than Man Utd. when losing to Real Madrid on Sunday. The totals on the game page don't seem quite right so treat with caution. The two stand out performances seem to be from the goalkeeper Guaita (66 points) and Mata (47). Bruno Saltor, T Costa, Navarro and Mathieu are the other strongest contenders.

Getting the balance right will again be the key tonight. If Man Utd. dominate as they should then 5 reds in your Big Game team is they way to go. It also depends on Valencia - will they attack and try and top the table? Or will they not bother?

Tips: Go for Anderson and Carrick. If you fancy 5 Man Utd players add either Vidic or Ferdinand, one of the Silva twins and Nani. If you think Man Utd will dominate but still want to include a Valencia player, consider Guaita or Navarro. If you think Valencia may have a fair bit of the ball I would recommend 1 or 2 of Albelda, T Costa, Mata and Mathieu.

Good luck!

by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)