2012 Manchester United Season Preview: The 2012 Manchester United season is sure to be one of concern for Manager Sir Alex Fergusson. He and his Red Devils were busted right at the death of the season last year when Manchester City literally swiped the Premier League title away from their hands, and now, their “noisy neighbors” are the league champions. The team didn’t go quietly into the offseason though, and Manchester United’s players are set to take yet another run at glory, as the Red Devils seek their 13th Premiership championship and their 20th ever English football crown. Here is the 2012 Man Utd schedule and fixtures, and the players with which they will have to take the road to Premier League glory once again.

2012 Manchester United News & Scores: The Red Devils are going to be starting the year off in relatively easy fashion, as there really is no excuse not to turn up with at least 10 points, if not all 12 from the team’s first four fixtures before heading to Anfield to take on Liverpool. The most brutal stretch of the season is clearly when the team has to take on Manchester City, Stoke City, Aston Villa, Arsenal, and Chelsea in a span of just four weeks towards the end of the year. That’s the type of run of fixtures that champions are made up of, and we know that the Red Devils are going to have to do well then to be able to claim more silverware in 2012.

Goalies: David de Gea, Anders Lindegaard
Defenders: Patrice Evra, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Rafael
Midfielders: Antonio Valencia, Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Nani, Ashley Young, Paul Scholes, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, Nick Powell, Shinji Kagawa
Forwards: Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Bebe, Robin van Persie

Manchester United Squad Analysis (As of 8/16/12): Needless to say, this is going to be quite the season for the Red Devils. They are going to once again by stout up front, knowing that Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie are going to arguably make for the most lethal scoring tandem in the Premiership. Dimitar Berbatov is likely going to be the odd man out, while Danny Welbeck will surely get his starts in the lineup at times as well. It’s going to be difficult for Fergusson to sit any of these players for any period of time, and the idea of starting with three in the front quite a bit might be appealing. The midfield features a nice mix of veterans and youngsters, but the key man at the back is of course, Nemanja Vidic, the team’s captain. He was out for half the season last year, and that’s when United looked vulnerable at the back. With Vidic in there, David de Gea looked like a star in the pipes at times, and that’s the direction that the Red Devils need to go again to be able to succeed.