by giokingkladze » Sun Apr 04, 2010 5:23 pm
The next week is a busy one in various cup competitions which i believe indirectly affect us.
The rags have the second leg against Bayern. Prior to the first leg, baconface rested a fully fit Rooney at Bolton - I'm not suggesting he'd rest him if fit against City, but if U****d get through, they'll have the first leg of the semi-final in the midweek following the derby, and this may well affect his team selection and the players' attitudes in the game.
Similarly, if Arsenal can get past Barca (unlikely, I know), our game at the Emirates will be sandwiched by their two semi-finals, which could again play in to our hands.
On Thursday, the Scousers play their second leg against Benfica. We saw Benitez take Torres off after 65 mins today, presumably with an eye on that match - showing where his priorities lie, so for me the longer they stay in that competition, the better.
Next weekend, Spurs and Villa are at Wembley for their FA Cup semi finals, another distraction for them both - none of their players would want to get injured/suspended for a potential final.
What I'm saying is, whilst I would normally take delight in rivals' failure, the longer these teams stay in their competitions, the more it suits us. So this week, I'll be hoping Arsenal, Liverpool, Spuds, Villa and even U****d go through