Manchester United vs. Glasgow Celtic
Tuesday 22nd July 2003
USA Tour - Friendly Match

United kick-off their US Tour on Tuesday, with the 'Battle of Britain', against Uefa Cup runners-up Glasgow Celtic.

The game takes place at the Seahawks Stadium in Seattle, with a capacity crowd of 72,000 expected to witness the affair.

The stadium is home to NFL outfit Seattle Seahawks, and is seen as one of the finest arenas on the planet, with two breath-taking stands at each side of the pitch.

The game is United's first since the 2-1 Premiership victory over Everton, over 2 months ago. Celtic though, have already played four pre-season friendly, including a 2-1 away victory over Fulham, this will give  the SPL outfit an advantage, as they will be already at match fitness.

Celtic had a trophy-less, but pleasing season last campaign. Missing out on the SPL title on goal difference and losing the Scottish League Cup final to arch-rivals Rangers was a major blow, but an excellent Uefa Cup run, including victories over Liverpool and Stuttgart gave Celtic belief that they can hack it with Europe's elite.

The Cup run ended in an unlucky 3-2 final defeat at the hands of Porto, but their performance throughout the competition proved many critics now, and the Scottish outfit are now looking for success in their forthcoming Champions League campaign.

Although the main objective of this tour is to boost the popularity of football in the USA, and the matches are labelled as "friendly" games, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is determined to come away from tonight's game with a victory.

"I can assure you, believe me, that Manchester United and Celtic do not play friendlies," said Sir Alex

"It's an unusual game for United and Celtic, to play so far away from our home countries. But nothing changes.

"Celtic play to win. They have a fantastic following that has come with them. These guys mean business. They don't spend money to see their team not trying. So you'll see a very competitive game."

In recent seasons, United have met Celtic in various testimonial matches, all of which have been very entertaining affairs.

Earlier this week, United name a squad of 21 that would participate in the Tour. All of these players are expected to take part in one of United's four matches in the country.

Fabien Barthez, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Mikael Silvestre were all left out of the squad due to their participation in the recent Confederations Cup.

With new signing Tim Howard yet to join up with the touring squad, and Fabien Barthez's absence, Northern Irish international Roy Carroll is expected to start between the sticks for the Reds. Carroll is sure to receive a heated reception from the Bhoys fans, as he is a massive Rangers supporter!

Winger David Bellion, who is currently the only new face with the squad, looks set to make his debut against Celtic, but the rest of the outfield positions look uncertain with Ferguson believed to wanting to start with a mixture of youth and experienced players.

One United player who will be desperate to start is Diego Forlan. The Uruguayan failed to establish himself a first team place last season, and was rumoured to be used in part-exchange for a recent United bid for Spanish midfielder Joaquin. The USA tour could be Forlan's last chance to prove himself worthy of a place in the United squad to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Tonight's game kicks-off at  4am British Summer Time. For those of you not lucky enough to be in Seattle, the game can be watched live on MUtv and Sentana Sport. It's going to be a late night...

Since arriving at Celtic Park in July 1997 for a bargain £650,000, Henrik Larsson has been the major force in Celtic's success.

His 191 goals in 265 appearances for the Bhoys has helped them to a cabinet of trophies on the domestic scene.

The Swedish internationals contract ends at the end of this season, and he has already told the Celtic faithful that he will not be signing a new deal. Still, after 7 years of tremendous service to Celtic, Larsson will go down as one of the greatest players ever to pull on the famous green and white jersey.

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Still, I'm going for a 2-2 draw, with Diego Forlan being amongst the United scorers.

U-N-I-T-E-D

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