Nani expects United to get rough ride from Stoke

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MANCHESTER: Manchester United winger Nani is expecting a physical confrontation with Stoke when Sir Alex Ferguson’s team returns to Old Trafford for the first time since their surprising loss to Tottenham.

Beaten twice already in their opening seven Premier League games of the season, United know there is little margin for error against Tony Pulis’ side after their surprising 3-2 home reverse to Spurs late last month.

But Nani is also aware that Stoke – who may have only won one game this season but have also only lost one match, by a solitary goal at league leaders Chelsea – present a difficult fixture on the return from the international break.

“It is always hard to play against Stoke because they play a different kind of football to most teams in the Premier League,” Nani told the club’s in-house broadcaster MUTV. “They are very physical and have very strong players. It is also difficult because most of the game is in the air. We need to be strong and try to play our game.

“We are playing at home and we have to believe we can win the three points. It is very important because when you play at home, you have a good chance to win these games.”

With international fixtures behind them for the foreseeable future, United face a potentially pivotal period of seven league games in five weeks which could make or break their attempts to wrestle the league title away from local rivals Manchester City, especially as their next league game comes at current leaders Chelsea.

“It is a good time for us,” said Nani. “We had a very good result last time against Newcastle before the international break so we are confident and it is a good time to start to believe.

“But we do not set long-term targets – our only target is to always win the game and to finish on top.” — AFP