Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be celebrating his 70th birthday on the occasion of the visit of Blackburn Rovers. Speaking ahead of the match, Sir Alex Ferguson said that Tottenham cannot be discounted as just another team this season. He says that Tottenham have the ability to launch title bid given that they have a game in hand over both the Manchester clubs at the top of the table. After the exit from the Champions League at the hands of FC Basel, Manchester United have been on an excellent run of form.

Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned the decision of the referee to award Newcastle United a penalty in the match against Old Trafford. Newcastle United equalised through the penalty and then managed to hold on till the end. The penalty was viewed with a lot of criticism from various quarters, although many would feel that Manchester United have had their fair share of dubious decisions gone their way. It is probably the first in a more than 100 matches that Manchester United have had a penalty decision against them. Still, it has caused United to miss the opportunity to close the gap on Manchester City, who could only draw against Liverpool on Sunday.