Friday’s

It is the first time the two sides have met in the top tier of Scottish football and they go into the encounter with an identical record in terms of matches won, drawn and lost from their opening eight matches.

Both have one win and five draws, while they also boast a goal difference of minus one, although Ross County have scored and conceded almost half the amount of goals than their rivals.

Caley Thistle boss Terry Butcher has called on his players to become instant derby heroes given that Richie Foran could be the only fit and available home player to have played against County if goalkeeper Ryan Esson is ruled out with a groin injury.

However, the former England captain is confident his players will cope with the demands of a new experience and come out on top.

Inverness also go into the game in confident mood having followed up a 2-2 draw at Hibernian with a comfortable 4-0 victory against basement side Dundee last weekend to make it four unbeaten.

Ross County were unbeaten in 40 league games when they secured promotion to the SPL and have had a reasonable start in the top flight with only two defeats in their opening eight matches.

However, the problem for Derek Adams is the defeats have been in their last two outings – 2-1 at home to St Johnstone and a thrilling last-gasp 5-4 reverse at St Mirren at the weekend.

Having kept things solid at the back, albeit without scoring many goals at the other end of the field, County’s defence uncharacteristically folded against the Buddies and Adams will no doubt be keen to tighten things up again for the trip to Inverness with County 7/4 to collect three points.

However, four goals will be a positive to build on for the Dingwall outfit who also boast former Inverness players Ross Tokely, Grant Munro and Iain Vigurs who are no doubt looking to get one over their old club.

Historically, Inverness have the edge in games between the two clubs, but Ross County came out on top during the 2009/10 First Division campaign with two wins and a draw from the four games, including a 3-1 win at the Caledonian Stadium.

But Butcher’s side won 3-0 at home in the league that season and also defeated County 1-0 in a Scottish Challenge Cup encounter.

There is very little to pick between the two sides going into the match with Inverness’ positive recent run counting for little given the phrase that ‘the form book goes out of the window in derbies’.

A home win at 5/4 is worth serious consideration but with local pride at stake and a desire not to lose it will result in a tight game and the points shared.

Prediction: Draw – 90 Minutes @ 9/4
Value Bet: 1-1 Draw – Correct Score at 11/2

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Sir Alex Ferguson

The Scot has put the building blocks in place for the next generation of title contenders by gazumping bitter rivals Liverpool to sign Phil Jones from Blackburn for £16m and the summer spending is unlikely to stop there.

Ferguson told Inside United: “There’s a responsibility as the manager of Manchester United. It doesn’t go away.”

He added: “We have to carry on, there’s nothing else you can do. We have a responsibility and expectation to live up to and that carries on next season.”

Highly-rated Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea and Aston Villa flyer Ashley Young feature on a burgeoning wish-list, while Ferguson is also considering entering the race to sign Udinese’s £30m-rated Alexis Sanchez.

The signing of England Under-21 defender Jones (4/1 England – U21 Euro Championships 2011 Outright Winner) makes sense given that Rio Ferdinand, now 32, made only 19 Premier League appearances for the champions last season.

Ferguson has taken the view that the Ewood favourite, also a target for title rivals Arsenal (7/1 – Premier League Outright 2011/2012 Winner), is the perfect foil for emerging talent Chris Smalling and the pair, on paper at least, look an exciting future partnership.

It also adds weight to the theory that the likes of Wes Brown and John O’Shea, targets for Sunderland, could be shown the door, while Jonny Evans’ future at Old Trafford is also unclear.

Ferguson revealed at the club’s annual awards ceremony in May that he hoped to bring in at least three new players in the close season and the guessing games continue.

The interest in Sanchez is curious, if not speculative, given that seasoned United fans have been crying out for a midfield game-breaker not seen since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Real Madrid.

Paul Scholes has announced his retirement and Ryan Giggs is almost at the end of his illustrious career, so Ferguson is left to plug a creative gap.

The likes of Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and Antonio Valencia can be relied on in the Premier League but are unlikely to scare the cream of Europe, as was illustrated in the Champions League final defeat by the Xavi-inspired Barcelona.

It opens the door for Ferguson to renew his interest in Internazionale playmaker Wesley Sneijder in what promises to be a fascinating summer.

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Louis van Gaal

The injury-hit Bavarians looked to be on their way to a one-sided win once Martin Demichelis and Mario Gomez had given them a comfortable two-goal cushion either side of the interval.

However, the defensive frailties that have cost Bayern in a sluggish start to the domestic season resurfaced when Robin Dutt’s troops threatened to silence the 69,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena.

Stefan Reisinger halved the deficit on 64 minutes – just 60 seconds after he was introduced as a substitute – but Bayern restored their lead when Anatoliy Tymoschuk rounded off a sweeping counter-attacking move.

The match appeared over as a contest when Toni Kroos put the German giants further ahead only for Edson Braafheid to put through his own net.

Coach van Gaal admitted Bayern, still missing the likes of flying wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, had not been at their best in an uneventful first half and hailed Germany schemer Bastian Schweinsteiger as the game-breaker.

The Dutchman said: “I’m happy with the result. We didn’t play well in the first half. We were far better after half-time, but we’ve conceded goals again. This group of players has played football the way Bayern Munich can – and that’s what really matters.”

He added: “Schweinsteiger made the difference in the second half: he took over the playmaking duties, he held up the play and distributed possession. He was terrific.”

Bayern are next in action on Wednesday when they travel to Romania looking to maingtain their 100 per cent start to Uefa Champions League Group E qualification against CFR 1907 Cluj (5/1 Cluj – Uefa Champions League Group E – To Qualify).

France winger Ribery is again expected to miss out as he continues his recovery from a long-standing anle injury.

He has not given up hope of a place in the matchday squad for Bayern’s Bundesliga  trip to Monchengladbach on November 6.

“I think there’s a good chance I’ll be involved against Gladbach,” he was quoted as saying by the Munich-based tz.

“But I’m determined to play again against Nürnberg [on 14 November]. That’s my target, and I’m certain I’ll make it.”

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Tottenham

The experienced manager is keen to add to his options between the sticks as Spurs prepare for their first-ever Champions League campaign after they secured a club-record fourth position in the Premier League last season (Spurs 40/1 – Champions League outright).

Redknapp already has Brazilian stopper Heurelho Gomes as well as the fit-again Carlo Cudicini, who returns to the club after missing most of last season due to the injuries he sustained in a motorcycle incident.

However, with youngster David Button expected to be sent out on loan, Redknapp is looking for another alternative to keep goal with Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa thought to be his favoured target.

Pletikosa, who is currently playing for Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League, has 81 caps for Croatia and has been a regular in the side since making his debut in 1999 and has been a target for Redknapp for a number of seasons.

“That’s a possibility, we’re looking to take a loan there,” Redknapp told Sky Sports News.

“I’ve got Gomes and I’ve got Carlo, which is good, but the young lad David Button is going out on loan so I feel we need three keepers.

“Carlo is coming back from a bad accident so we don’t want to leave ourselves short. We’ll be looking to bring another keeper in to give us three goalkeepers.”

Redknapp was speaking following his side’s 2-1 friendly victory over New York Red Bulls. The match saw the first appearance for the Red Bulls of former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry who made a scoring debut.

Robbie Keane and Gareth Bale scored Spurs goals to take the victory and Redknapp was understandably delighted with the pair’s performance.

Redknapp added: “He (Keane) needed it, he had a couple of opportunities tonight. He pulled off into some great positions as he always does, he just didn’t manage to finish one.

“But in the end he got there and then Gareth Bale did well for the other goal, so it was all good.”

Keane has been the subject of transfer speculation throughout the summer with interest from a number of clubs, most notably Aston Villa and Celtic, with whom he spent the second half of last season on loan.

After the match Keane said he was pleased with his performance but said “thank you” and walked away when he asked about his future.

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