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Performance against Stoke not enough for Ashley Young – Moyes

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Ashley Young scores for Manchester United in the League Cup: Photo Zimbio

MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Despite scoring a brilliant goal in the English League Cup win at Stoke City on Wednesday night, Ashley Young has been warned that he could still be sold in the January transfer window.

Young scored his first goal in 36 games for Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Stoke in the League Cup quarterfinal on his way to putting in a man of the match shift for David Moyes’ side.

However, despite praising the England international for his performance, Moyes told him he must carry on scoring if he is to win back his place in the team.

“Young has showed he can come in and he can make an impact and score us some goals and I need that,” Moyes said.

The likes of first picks Antonio Valencia and Adnan Januzaj, as well as Danny Welbeck, Nani and Wilfried Zaha are all battling for wide positions.

“We have got a lot of competition in wide areas at Manchester United, a lot of players we can select from, so you need to score and you need to play well if you want to get regular outings,” he said.

“He has got to keep stepping up like he did tonight. What I have noticed is when you come to Manchester United, and you are playing in the team, you have got to show it when you get your moments and opportunities and I thought he showed that tonight”

He added: “Ashley had two big chances against Shakhtar [Donetsk] and he has got the ability to score and he is a good goalscorer: we see that in training.

“He needed the goal for himself. We want a lot of goals around the team and it was great he could get one.”

Ashley Young starts for Manchester United v Stoke: League Cup Live

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(Sporting Alert) — Ashley Young is in the Manchester United starting lineup for tonight’s League Cup clash with Stoke City as manager David Moyes made three changes from the team that beat Aston Villa.

Follow Stoke v Manchester United Live Soccer Scores – League Cup

Chris Smalling and Anderson have also been recalled to starting team with Danny Welbeck leading the attack with Wayne Rooney rested.

Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones and Antonio Valencia all start as well for Manchester United in the wet conditions at Britannia Stadium.

Stoke, meanwhile, make four changes from the team that drew 0-0 with Hull City at the weekend, with Jon Walters leading the attack.

Stoke City v Manchester United

Stoke: Sorensen, Cameron, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters, Palacios, Whelan, Walters, Ireland, Assaidi, Crouch
Subs: Begovic, Muniesa, Pennant, Jones, Arnautovic, Adam, Wilkinson

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael Da Silva, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Cleverley, Jones, Anderson, Valencia, Welbeck, Young
Subs: Hernandez, Nani, Fletcher, Kagawa, Buttner, Zaha, Johnstone

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)

Barclays Premier League Scores, Results – Nov. 2 and 3

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City record victories on Saturday, while Liverpool and Chelsea fell to defeats in the Barclays Premier League on the same the day.

The biggest winners on the day was Manchester City, who registered a Premier League team record at Etihad Stadium when hammering Norwich City 7-0, as seven different goalscorers hit the target, although the first goal was an own goal by Bradley Johnson.

Leaders Arsenal moved five points clear of Liverpool in the standings, following their 2-0 victory over the Reds in the late game. Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey both scored impressive goals for Arsene Wenger’s side to move to 25 points in the EPL table standings.

Manchester United’s good run continued after the defending champions beat Fulham 3-1. Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney scored the goals for David Moyes’ side, which led 3-0 at half before making three changes to the start the second half. Alexander Kacaniklic was the goalscorer for Fulham.

At St James’ Park Newcastle United stunned Chelsea 2-0, as Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy found the back of the net in the second half for Alan Pardew’s team.

Elsewhere in the EPL, West Bromwich picked up a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, Hull City edged nine-man Sunderland 1-0, as Andrea Dossena and Lee Cattermole both received red cards in first half stoppage time for the Black Cats.

Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic scored a freak of a goal for Stoke City after just 14 seconds, but  Jay Rodriguez pulled one back for Southampton in the 1-1 draw. Aston Villa and West Ham United ended 0-0.

Premier League Scores And Results – Nov. 2 and 3

Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
at Goodison Park

Cardiff City 1 Swansea City 0
at Cardiff City Stadium

Arsenal 2 Liverpool 0
at the Emirates Stadium.

Manchester City 7 Norwich 0
at the Etihad Stadium.

Fulham 1 Manchester United 3
at Craven Cottage.

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0
at St James’ Park.

Stoke 1 Southampton 1
at the Britannia Stadium.

West Ham 0 Aston Villa 0
at Upton Park.

West Brom 2 Crystal Palace 0
at the Hawthorns.

Hull 1 Sunderland 0
at the KC Stadium.

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Van Persie Returns: Watch Fulham v Manchester United Live on NBC Sports

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney both return to the starting line-up for Manchester United in their English Premier League trip to Fulham today at Craven Cottage.

Watch Fulham v Manchester United Live on NBC Sports @ 11:00 AM ET

TalkSport: Live Radio Commentary | Live Score Updates

Van Perise missed the 4-0 win over Norwich in the Capital One Cup midweek, while Rooney started on the bench in that win.

Phil Jones, who started at center-back in that game, moves into midfield, as Adnan Januzaj, Tom Cleverley and Antonio Valencia all start as well.

Nemanja Vidic plays with Jonny Evans in the back, while David de Gea, Rafael and Patrice Evra are also back.

Dimitar Berbatov starts against his former club, as well as Kieran Richardson, while Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell and Bryan Ruiz start as well.

Darren Bent and Adel Taarabt start on the bench, as does Aaron Hughes.

Fulham v Manchester United

Fulham: Stekelenburg, Riether, Senderos, Amorebieta, Richardson, Parker, Sidwell, Dejagah, Ruiz, Kasami, Berbatov
Subs: Kacaniklic, Stockdale, Karagounis, Hughes, Taarabt, Boateng, Bent

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael Da Silva, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Jones, Cleverley, Valencia, Rooney, Januzaj, van Persie
Subs: Smalling, Lindegaard, Hernandez, Nani, Young, Kagawa, Fellaini

Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)

Antonio Valencia no longer wearing No.7 for Manchester United

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LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Antonio Valencia is no longer wearing the no.7 shirt for Manchester United and will instead wear the no.25 jersey for this coming season.

Valencia, who has struggled to find his best form that saw him landing the famous no.7 shirt worn by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, has apparently requested a different jersey number.

“Interestingly, Antonio Valencia is no longer wearing the no.7 shirt number for United,” the club said on www.manutd.com.

“He will wear the no.25 jersey from this point onwards.”

Immediate suggestions have now linked Ronaldo with a move back to Old Trafford, although manager David Moyes remains tight-lipped on the reports.

Meanwhile, there is no Wayne Rooney in the squad and Moyes says the England forward is still recovering from his shoulder injury, but should be back soon.

“Wayne Rooney trained with us yesterday. He trained a couple of days with the reserves. He is not quite fit,” the manager said.

“He will join up with England because I think it will benefit Manchester United for him to get some minutes on the pitch.

“Let’s all hope we can get Wayne back and firing shortly.”

Moyes added: “Pre-season has been a bit mixed but it has been more important to get people fit. Today is still a pre-season game in mind but there is a trophy at stake.

“Wilfried Zaha has done well in pre-season games and he has impressed us.”

Manchester United hands No. 7 shirt to Valencia

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MANCHESTER, England (Sporting Alert) — Ecuador star winger Antonio Valencia will wear the “iconic No.7” shirt for Manchester United in the 2012/13 season.

The spotlight number, which was previously worn by several club legends such as George Best, Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo – was left vacant by Michael Owen, who departed the club after being released this summer.

“Valencia requested the No.7 shirt,” Manchester United reveal on its official website at www.manutd.com.

The Barclays Premier League side also confirmed that new summer signings Nick Powell and Shinji Kagawa will wear no.25 and no.26 respectively.

The remaining squad numbers for the new campaign season are still to be confirmed, but Wayne Rooney is expected to keep his No. 10 shirt, while Javier Hernandez, Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young are expected to keep the No. 14, No. 11 and No. 18 respective shirts.

Meanwhile, Kagawa revealed that he turned down the opportunity to wear the famous No. 7 jersey.

“I’ve just joined the team and haven’t accomplished anything yet,” said Kagawa. “I want to make a name for myself [at United] on my own terms.”

Much is expected from the Japan international, following his impressive season with German champions Borussia Dortmund, and he’s looking forward to the challenge.

Kagawa added: “This is a challenge I am really looking forward to. The Premier League is the best league in the world and Manchester United is such a massive club.

“This is a really exciting time for me and I can’t wait to meet the team and start playing.”

TEAM NEWS: Messi, Aguero, Higuaín start: Argentina v Ecuador

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Buenos Aires (Sporting Alert) — Lionel Messi and Argentina will look to take over the lead at the top of the World Cup qualification table in South America with a win over Ecuador at Estadio Monumental on Saturday.

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Argentina are a point behind Uruguay and Venezuela, who played to a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday and will for the former World Cup champions would see them moving to the top on 10 points.

After a busy season of rivalry, Messi and Gonzalo Higuaín will now join forces on the same side for Argentina.

Manchester City top striker Sergio Aguero will join the Barcelona and Real Madrid stars in the attack.

The trio have combined for an impressive 129 goals between them for their respective clubs this past season and the fans, who weren’t too keen on watching the national side’s last home outing have decided to come back on the team’s side.

“The last game we played at home, this didn’t happen”, Messi said, who scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 friendly win over Switzerland. “But we will only get the fans to come closer if we play well and win.”

Angel Di María, Javier Mascherano and Pablo Zabaleta are also included in the starting line-up.

Meanwhile Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia is amongst the starters for Ecuador, who themselves will look to jump into position with a win, believes Argentina will be tough to beat at home, especially with the form Messi is on.

“They have the best player of the entire world,” Valencia, referring to Messi, said.

“We have to stay calm and be intelligent if we want to rescue a good result.

“The key for us in these qualifiers will be winning at home and trying to catch some points as visitors.”

Argentina vs Ecuador

Argentina: Romero, Zabaleta, Fernandez, Garay, Clemente Rodriguez, Mascherano, Di Maria, Gago, Messi, Higuain, Aguero
Subs: Orion, Rojo, Desabato, Sosa, Maximiliano Rodriguez, Matias Rodriguez, Guinazu, Brana, Lavezzi, Campagnaro, Andujar

Ecuador: Dominguez, Achilier, Guagua, Campos, Walter Ayovi, Valencia, Quinonez, Noboa, Saritama, Suarez, Benitez
Subs: Banguera, Erazo, Paredes, Minda, Ibarra, Montero, Castillo, Espinoza, Jaime Ayovi, Calderon, Bone

Referee: Victor Hugo Rivera (Peru)