man u

Las Vegas - Staying in England, and rolling down to Brighton where Manchester United storms in looking to continue its magnificent run. Yo Eck, when you say magnificent, fill us in. How about a 14 game unbeaten streak in all competitions, with 10 wins and 4 draws. And how about, are you sitting, scoring 35 goals and conceding ONLY 4.

Now, THAT'S magnificent!

The Red Devils are sitting in the 6th slot with 49 points. Normally, the top four spots in the Premier League would get an invitation to the UEFA Champions League, but there's an issue with Manchester City. They were given a two year ban from UEFA's club competitions. A verdict on their recent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport is due in July. So, if the ban is upheld, fifth place will be enough to guarantee a spot in next season's Champions League. And the Red Devils are just three points behind Wolverhampton (52 points).

United's 49 points have come from 13 wins, 8 losses and 10 draws. B & H has won only 7, lost 12 and posted 12 draws. The visiting Devils have pounded 48 balls in to the net, while allowing 31 for a pretty sweet +17 goal differential. The Seagulls have managed to find the net 34 times and allowed 41 for an ugly -7 goal differential.

Actually learned something new while doing my research regarding Brighton & Hove Albion. The Brighton & Hove part is easy. It's a city on the Southern coast of England. The Albion part is a new entry into my crowded Rolodex of mostly useless facts. Albion is an alternative name for the island of Great Britain. It is sometimes used poetically to refer to the island, but has fallen out of common use in English. I actually pride myself on STAGGERING amounts of useless facts, but never came across this one.

Never easy for Man U. to play at the Seagulls, but in this spot, with NO fans in the seats, my chips are gonna be all Red and all Devils.

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