Premier League, Week 34: Party at Old Trafford!

Van Persie showed him how it was done seconds later, smashing home Rooney’s diagonal with a first-time volley from the edge of the penalty area. It was a fine goal, worthy of winning the title but for the unfortunate fact that it too should have been called for offside -- the Dutch striker was behind the line when Rooney played him in.

At 2-0, the game was pretty clearly over, and Villa started coming out of their shell. They even managed periods of sustained pressure, opening up United’s midfield almost at will but never coming particularly close to threatening de Gea’s goal. The hosts were simply absorbing pressure and waiting for a chance to break forward, and they did just that in the 33rd minute when Giggs burst clear of Villa’s line and bore down on Guzan.

The Red Devils’ lead was 15 points when they met Manchester City on April 8. An impressive win for the Citizens at Old Trafford only delayed the inevitable for a couple of weeks and didn’t lead to them mounting any kind of serious challenge for the league title.

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United have been in some patchy form of late, only picking up a point in a trip to West Ham last Wednesday. Still, they’ve only been beaten twice at home this season, and should be able to bounce back from the disappointment of losing 2-1 in the Manchester derby the last time they played at Old Trafford. Villa haven’t won away against United since 2009, though they have now strung together two consecutive confidence-boosting wins on the road.

Manchester United injuries and suspensions

Tottenham have struggled against Manchester City in recent years. You have to go back to December 2009 for Spurs’ last victory in this fixture, and aside from an exciting goalless draw on the opening day of the 2010/11 season, it’s otherwise been City domination - and until Andre Villas-Boas switched the format of his midfield to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory, that was the case here.

In a game featuring four narrow wingers and two out of form strikers, City’s lead at half-time was indebted to the cleverness of Carlos Tevez. Out of City’s three strikers the Argentine demonstrates the most variety of movement, able to shift between the lines to become a playmaker or play higher up and battle centre-backs as a lone forward.

It was no surprise, then, to see the source of Liverpool’s equaliser. Suarez was the creator, as he floated in a perfect cross, and Sturridge took just seven minutes to register his goal, side-footing in past Cech and levelling the scores.

Liverpool thought they should have had a penalty afterwards as he was leapt on by David Luiz, but the referee correctly judged the foul to have taken place just outside the area. It was still a good opportunity for Liverpool, but Suarez dragged the free-kick just wide of the post.

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