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O’Shea looking for fitness

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Fit-again defender John O’Shea says Manchester United will be hoping to avoid the injury problems that cost them their Premier League title to Chelsea last year (United 5/2 – Premier League outright).

O’Shea missed much of the last season with a thigh problem and was one of a number of defensive injuries that affected United during a dark December month which saw them lose to both Aston Villa and Fulham, two defeats that eventually proved crucial at the end of the season.

During that time, Sir Alex Ferguson was without key men Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic as well as Wes Brown, Jonny Evans and the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio.

This crisis also coincided with an injury to goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar which meant he was forced to pair midfielders Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick in the heart of the defence with the unfortunate Ben Foster between the sticks.

O’Shea said: “Injuries were a key factor last season and we hope to avoid them this time around. I can never remember so many defenders being injured.

“But we still got so close to retaining the title – only a few lapses of concentration let us down in the end. Now we are all hungry to succeed again.”

United are currently on tour in America and have been regularly training in heat of 30 degrees Celsius. However, O’Shea is not fazed by the heat and insists it will benefit the side come the first weekend of the season.

“It is hard but not as hard as it was in years gone by, mind you,” said the Republic of Ireland international.

“It is more personalised now, which is down to the sports science staff. A good pre-season is so important.”

The Red Devils are currently stationed in Pennsylvania and are due to face a new MLS side on Wednesday night.

Ferguson will have to decide whether or not to risk winger Nani in the match and is expected to field a similar side to the one which won 3-1 against Celtic on Saturday due to the continued absence of a number of first-team regulars because of the extended break after the World Cup.

United start their campaign on Monday 16 August at home against Newcastle as they aim to achieve their fourth title in five years (United 1/5 – 90 minutes).

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Casillas looking forward to Germany match

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Spain captain Iker Casillas says his sides World Cup semi-final against Germany on Wednesday night is the most important match in the country’s footballing history. (Spain 8/5 to beat Germany)

The Spanish were seen as perennial underachievers until they won the European Championships in 2008 to alleviate some of the pressure on the national side.

But the Euro 2008 victory has been quickly forgotten and the Spanish population now expect their side to go and lift the ultimate goal in football at the World Cup.

Victory in the match against Germany would book Spain a place in their first World Cup final and make the likelihood of a second major trophy in two years even more of a possibility.

Howver, Casillas is not taking anything for granted and admits his side are aware of the pressure on them.

“People are not telling us how good we were at Euro 2008,” said the keeper.

“People are saying we have to win the World Cup. The people want the World Cup.

“We know that the Germany match is the most important in our history, even more than the Euro 2008 final in Austria.

“We did not come here to finish fourth. The European Championships is in the past and was a complete success, it was fantastic.

“Everyone was flying the (Spanish) flag from the rooftops but now, from what we are seeing, this is the most important match for Spain for a very long time.”

Spent went into the tournament as outright favourites for the title and despite an early hiccup against Switzerland, look right on course to fulfil their billing despite not yet hitting the heights they reached in qualification (Spain 15/8 to win the World Cup).

However Germany are the in-form side in the championship and have impressed with their free flowing football. The Germans destroyed Diego Maradona’s Argentina 4-0 in the quarters and look a danger every time they go forward.

Spain striker Fernando Torres has so far disappointed in the tournament after coming back from knee surgery.

However, Casillas believes this has further demonstrated the strength of the Spanish squad and the importance of the team rather than the individuals.

“This shows that a national team is not at all about only one player.

“A player can win you a tournament, like Argentina and (Diego) Maradona (in Mexico in 1986).

“But today, more and more, the team is what counts. A player can perform very well but at the end of the day everything is based around teamwork.”

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Bafana Bafana looking for Uruguay win

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The Bafana Bafana go into Wednesday night’s game against Uruguay knowing that a win could be key to them making a shock appearance in the last 16. (13/8 to qualify)

South Africa, who are trying to avoid the unwanted tag of being the first nation to be knocked out in the group stages as hosts, kicked off their campaign with a thrilling draw with Mexico. The Bafana Bafana made a nervous start to the game and were largely uninspiring during the first half but came to life after a Siphiwe Tshabalala strike and were and unlucky not to take the points after Katlego Mphela  struck the post in the dying moments.

The hosts will now be looking to carry this from into their second match and will be looking to put themselves at the top of Group A against a Uruguay side that looked uninspired in their first group game against France.

“Uruguay will be in trouble if we carry on where we left off against the Mexicans,” said Tshabalala.

“A win against Uruguay will virtually seal our passage into the second round and make the nation even prouder.”

On paper, the Uruguayans possess one of the most potent strike partnerships in the competition with Ajax’s Luis Suarez and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Forlan (Forlan 5/1 favourite for first goalscorer). The two failed to gel during the first match but the forwards failed to gel in the first match the South Africans know that it only takes these strikers a split second to score a goal.

Despite the constant threat, South African centre-half Bongani Khumalo says he is excited by the prospect of facing two of the world’s best strikers.

“Diego is a world-class footballer, but the whole point of playing in this tournament is to test yourself against the best,” Khumalo said. “There is no fear of Forlan nor Uruguay.”

The south Africans will be hoping for the same kind of feverish support that they had for their first game and although many of the sides have been complaining about the noise of the vuvuzelas the South Africans say that the sound of the horn like instruments are inspiring to the African players

“What we have seen from our supporters is amazing and we need to reach the second round for their sake,” South African defender Siboniso Gaxa said. “I believe four points will be enough to claim a place in the knockout stage.”

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Loew looking to “embarrass” sides

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Germany coach Joachim LowGermany coach Joachim Loew has called on his players to “embarrass” their opponents during the World Cup.

The Germans open their campaign against Australia in Durban on Sunday before going on to face Ghana and Serbia in their other Group D matches  (Germany 2/9 to qualify from Group D).

“We want to be able to embarrass opponents with our playing skills,” said Loew.

“We couldn’t have done any more up to this point. That’s why my conscience is clear and I have a really good feeling about the tournament.”

Loew, who took over from Jurgen Klinsman after Germany’s unsuccessful 2006 campaign, led Die Mannschaft to the final of Euro 2008 and Loew will be looking to carry on their success by winning  their fourth tournament after coming out on top in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

Germany go into the tournament on the back of a string of 3-0 victories against Malta, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Loew is confident his side can carry this form into the tournament.

“The team has been enthusiastic and ready to learn,” he added. “Now we are just correcting small errors. We are going into the tournament well prepared.”

Amongst the players Loew is placing his trust in is striker Miroslav Klose (33/1 for top goalscorer) who needs six goals in the tournament to become the highest scorer in the history of the World Cup. Klose was only a bit-part player in Bayern Munich’s double winning season which saw them win the German League and Cup as well as losing in the final of the Champions League.

However, he has remained a stalwart of the German side throughout qualifying and Loew believes the big striker is rediscovering the form that saw him win the Golden Boot in 2006.

“He (Klose) told me that he felt a lot better,” said Loew. “He was very agile, quick in his actions in training.

“He’s slowly getting his form back, and he’s getting fresher physically as well. Miro can still be very important to us.”

Klose is expected to start up-front on his own for the Germans against the Socceroos with support coming from young playmaker Memut Ozil. Ozil is one of a number of youngsters in line for their World Cup debuts, with midfilders Thomas Muller and Sam Khedira hoping for a start as well as new Manchester City signing Jerome Boateng who is looking to partner Per Mertesacker in the heart of the German defence.

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Grayson looking to complete job

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Leeds boss Simon Grayson is confident the team he puts out against Bristol Rovers at Elland Road on Saturday will get them over the finish line and earn automatic promotion from League One.

The Whites are odds-on (1/5) to join Norwich City back in the Championship next season although the likes of Millwall, Swindon, Charlton and even Huddersfield are all waiting in the wings should the fallen Yorkshire giants slip up again.

Leeds have simply been down among the dead men for too long after paying the price for ‘living the dream’ under former chairman Peter Ridsdale.

But they have the chance to avoid the dreaded play-offs by putting the Pirates to the sword on home soil on the final day of the regular League One season – and they are certainly fancied to do just that (Leeds 2/7, draw 7/2, Rovers 8/1 in match betting).

Grayson is picking from a position of relative strength at the end of a long season, with just Ben Parker, Paddy Kisnorbo, Jason Crowe and Aidy White on the sidelines.

“We’ve got everyone you would expect available,” said Grayson. “We’ll consider all our options and, as I always say, we will put a team out that we believe can do the job we want to do.”

Win and Leeds are up, but any other result makes them vulnerable given their slender one-point advantage over Millwall and Swindon, who meet at the Den.

The Lions could be without top scorer Steve Morrison with the hitman facing a late fitness test on a hamstring problem although fit-again Gary Alexander, who himself is no stranger to the back of the net, is ready to be pitched in following a bad heel injury.

Robins forward Vincent Pericard, once of Juventus, Portsmouth and Stoke, looks set to sit the game out with a heel problem of his own after missing last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Brentford.

Swindon chief Danny Wilson admits his side will be under the best kind of pressure.

He told the BBC:  “You’ve just got to enjoy it. I’d certainly rather be in our position than fighting against relegation.

“We’ll go out and remember this time because they don’t come around too often.”

At the other end of the League One table, four clubs are slugging it out to avoid joining Southend, Wycombe and Stockport in League Two next season.

Tranmere, Gillingham, Hartlepool or Exeter will lose their place in the division, with the unlucky club’s players set for a miserable summer break.

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