"VIDEO: Cleverley vs Henderson Playing Tennis" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

2-1 wins for United over Liverpool and Arsenal over Sunderland - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Here's a look at the weekend's biggest Premier League fixtures and the best bets to place this weekend.

Manchester United v Liverpool

All eyes will be on Old Trafford this weekend when arch rivals Man United and Liverpool face off in what promises to be a fiery encounter (12.

It will be a hostile atmosphere when United take on arch rivals Liverpool this weekend, and Sir Alex's side are slightly odds-on at 1.91 with Paddy Power to come out on top in what promises to be a real hard fought battle.

The game sees Patrice Evra come face to face with Luis Suarez for the first time since the Liverpool striker was banned for eight games after racially abusing the United defender and the role of referee Phil Dowd will be crucial.

Who spends the longest in front of the mirror?

It's an age old tool we've been probing our favourite 'ballers with for years, mainly because we can't be bothered to come up with any better questions.

As you know, over the past few weeks we've been training Chris Cohen of 'Talking Balls' to do our bidding (so we ourselves can spend longer in front of the mirror) and we're pleased to say that he did a magnificent job of getting the goods from Manchester United's Tom Cleverley and Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, when he cornered them on Wednesday at the launch of EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2 in London.

It appeared to us an act of desperation – the very last resort, Plan B (or, more appropriately, Plan Z), or any well-worn cliché – and it, well, was. For Manchester United, bringing back Paul Scholes seemed a step back. Truth is, it's gone better than we'd envisaged back then, ever since it was revealed ahead of the FA Cup 3rd round tie against Manchester City back in January.

Manchester United vs Liverpool
11 February 2012
12.45 GMT
Old Trafford

History:
Total: 184
Liverpool Wins: 62
Manchester United Wins: 71
Draws: 51

Last Premier League Meeting: 15 October 2011 – Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United (Gerrard)

Form:
Liverpool: While the Reds have been unstoppable in the cups, their league form has been questionable.

Now the title of this one might be rather annoying to some fans. Many (me included) have seen Tom Cleverley becoming something of a savior for our team. In truth, when we were 2-0 down against City...
Continue to the full story

Stamford Bridge hasn't been a pay hunting ground in the league for United in recent years, but they look overpriced at 2.9 with Betfred to beat their arch rivals Chelsea and bag a vital three points to maintain their title challenge.

Having played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in quick succession, and with Liverpool coming up again, United are now at a crucial stage of their season having hauled themselves level on points with Roberto Mancini's men at the top of the Premiership.

Wayne Rooney and Nani have trained for the last two days and will be in the squad for Chelsea. Ashley Young should also be included and there is the possibility that Tom Cleverley will be too. It is more likely that Tom will next play for the Reserves against Chelsea on Monday but he will travel with the squad this weekend.

Wayne Rooney and Nani have trained for the last two days and will be in the squad for Chelsea. Ashley Young should also be included and there is the possibility that Tom Cleverley will be too. It is more likely that Tom will next play for the Reserves against Chelsea on Monday but he will travel with the squad this weekend.

Manchester United are entering a crucial stage in their title defense and with Europa League commitments set to commence in a few weeks, Sir Alex Ferguson is counting on the return of energetic midfielder Tom Cleverley.

Although Sir Alex will also have Ashley Young and Anderson return to training this week, he is particularly excited about seeing Cleverley back in a fortnight's time.

It has been a scrappy season for defending Premier League champions Manchester United but in dealing with a plethora of injuries, the club has certainly benefited from the consistency of Michael Carrick, which has not gone unnoticed.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has backed the 30-year old midfielder to continue his terrific run even as the Red Devils prepare to welcome returning playmakers Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley.

Phil Jones was subbed off after 20 minutes in Manchester United's 2-1 victory over Arsenal, needing a stretcher to take him off the field. Reports from the touchline suggested he had just twisted his ankle but the following day there were claims he had ligament damage.

However, Mike Phelan has given us hope that Jones could be available for our FA Cup clash at Anfield.

Manchester City's crosstown rivals and English Premiership title contenders Manchester United could also do with a transfer signing. Nemanja Vidic, the club captain and lynchpin of the Manchester United defence, is out for the rest of the season. Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain and one of the best defenders in the club's history, continuously suffers from niggling injuries and his participation is never certain until the match begins.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wazza, Gary Neville, Michael Owen and Tom Cleverley are the latest in a long line of 'ballers befuddled by the diminutive magician's awe-inspiring sleight of hand.

No, we have no idea how he does it either.

"VIDEO: Dynamo visits Rooney, Owen and Cleverley‏" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain

Alex made his big move to Arsenal in the summer for a massive £15million. The England U21 international has been outstanding when he has featured this season and will have a big part to play in the second half of the season. At the start of December Wenger tipped Chamberlain to make the England 2012 squad for the summer tournament which could him play more and more in the second half of the season.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain

Alex made his big move to Arsenal in the summer for a massive £15million. The England U21 international has been outstanding when he has featured this season and will have a big part to play in the second half of the season. At the start of December Wenger tipped Chamberlain to make the England 2012 squad for the summer tournament which could him play more and more in the second half of the season.

In his recent post on the loan system, my fellow blogger Lloyd drew attention to its clever exploitation by Watford in recent seasons. Tom Cleverley was perhaps the best known of the Vicarage Road lodgers but Ben Foster did strikingly before him, while Henri Lansbury and Andrew Taylor also starred in gold.

1. Well, that was piss easy, wasn't it? Hmm. What should have been a walk in the part for United following the first half was worryingly more difficult than it needed to be, but we got the result and that's all that matters. United have knocked our local rivals, our noisy neighbours, and current holders, Manchester City, out of the FA Cup at their own ground.

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

There has been plenty of hype surrounding Tom Cleverley over the past year or two which reached a climax this summer once Paul Scholes announced his retirement. Cleverley was tipped by plenty to be the successor to one of the most gifted midfielders this country has ever seen.

Fortunately for the lad, and for the team, Cleverley dealt with the expectation well, and confirmed his place in the starting XI at the start of the season.

There has been plenty of hype surrounding Tom Cleverley over the past year or two which reached a climax this summer once Paul Scholes announced his retirement. Cleverley was tipped by plenty to be the successor to one of the most gifted midfielders this country has ever seen.

Fortunately for the lad, and for the team, Cleverley dealt with the expectation well, and confirmed his place in the starting XI at the start of the season.

Mirror: It is as if the Manchester United players have realised what an ordinary side they are

If you spend three months spinning plates, eventually you fail to stop them falling off the poles. And on Tyneside on Wednesday, the sound of crockery crashing down around Sir Alex Ferguson was deafening.

There's a moment in every superhero story where the protagonist momentarily loses his power. In the 1986 relaunch of DC Comic's Superman series, John Byrne revised the superhero's abilities so that it would be easier to for writers to come up with suitable challenges. Last night, Newcastle United was such a challenge for Manchester United's Phil Jones.

1. Back to back defeats for Manchester United now against teams we should not be losing to. Blackburn have been woeful this season and Newcastle have had a pretty poor record at home. We are of course missing important players like Nemanja Vidic and Tom Cleverley but that isn't a good enough excuse for not getting the wake up call we should have had after the Blackburn result.

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has officially joined QPR on-loan for the rest of the season with Sir Alex Ferguson hoping his stint in London will have the same desired effect that Danny Wellbeck's and Tom Cleverley's had when they were farmed out last season to Sunderland and Wigan respectively.

A lot is made of the culture that Sir Alex Ferguson has built at Manchester United, and the foundation is built on an insatiable thirst for winning.
You can certainly see it on the field when watching the Red Devils take on English Premier League opponents, but if you can't pinpoint that x-factor on the field, listen to comments by Manchester United players, coaches and rivals.

Lille star wanted Arsenal move, funny Torres story and Tom Cleverley's gorgeous girlfriend

See below for links to the most popular content from talkSPORT.co.uk in August 2011

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-29 08:00:00 from: Talksport

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Rio Ferdinand, Danny Welbeck, Nani, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans, Michael Carrick, Michael Owen, Darron Gibson and Mame Biram Diouf visited the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Wayne Rooney, Park Ji-Sung, Patrice Evra and Tom Cleverley went to The Christie.

"Our Lads Show Their Christmas Spirit" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

Tom Cleverley doesn't have a date to return from injury yet and claims it is very frustrating having to watch the action from the sidelines.

"The injury is not bad, I am just working hard with the physios and doing what they tell me at the minute," Cleverley said. "I am in the gym just working hard really to try and get back fit.

Tom Cleverley doesn't have a date to return from injury yet and claims it is very frustrating having to watch the action from the sidelines.

"The injury is not bad, I am just working hard with the physios and doing what they tell me at the minute," Cleverley said. "I am in the gym just working hard really to try and get back fit.

1. Well that was just the kind of performance we needed following the devastating result in Basel this week. We passed the ball around well and at long last put away a good number of the chances we created. Only Swansea have a worse away record than Wolves though and after playing them, it is obvious why.

1. So we're barely in December and we've already won as many games away as we had done all of last season. Whilst the scoreline meant we had a nervy ending to the game, it was a convincing performance that was worthy of victory. Whilst I don't think dominating a team in the top half away from home is anything to be sniffed at, it is frustrating to see us struggle to put games to bed.

Once you break a habit, it's very difficult to go back to the way things were. Occasions where you were coasting along like it was second nature suddenly seem like uncharted territory. Every step is a challenge involving multiple thoughts, anxious moments and uncertain decisions. Ever since we were hammered 6-1 at Old Trafford on the blackest day in our recent memory, our form has displayed the sort of scratchy incompetence of a broken habit.

They destroyed Tottenham. Destroyed Arsenal. Destroyed Chelsea. Then the red team in Manchester lost to the blue team in Manchester, Manchester City, and the va-va voom, flair and excitement has disappeared. Sir Alex Ferguson's team stumbled to a victory against Everton at Goodison Park, they got over the line against Norwich, just about beat Sunderland and then defeated Swansea by one goal without impressing anybody at all.

Since Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira joined Manchester United from Porto back in 2007 the Old Trafford faithful have been split over the midfielder's influence, importance and ability to be included in Sir Alex Ferguson's first team. Gifted? Yes. Committed? One thinks so. Frustrating? Also at times yes.

For any club to be successful you have to strike the right balance. You need the experience players combined with younger players to gel and if you do find the right mix, you will have a good chance of being successful.
It pains me to say it but look at Sir Alex Ferguson at United. He continues to do it season after season, he evolves his squad and his team to keep things fresh and has done it again this term with the likes of Wellbeck, Cleverley, Jones and Smalling.

You might be wondering howManchesterUnited and online bingo actually go together but they do. Many of the fans that love Manchester United also love to play bingo. The demographics show that many young people who are fierce fans of Manchester United are also in the same age group that loves to play online bingo.

Manchester United's best form this season has coincided with Tom Cleverley starting in the centre of midfield. With plenty of people claiming Cleverley is ready to fill Paul Scholes' boots, Danny Welbeck has today sung the praises of his team mate.

"I think he can become a world-class player," said Welbeck.