Four weeks ago David Beckham and Trevor Sinclair were lining up alongside each other when England took on Sweden at Old Trafford. However, they will be on opposite sides at the same venue this Saturday, with neither player settling for a draw this time around.
Both midfielders played a pivotal role in the host country's only goal that day, when Sinclair was clipped in the box and Beckham duly stepped up to convert the ensuing spot-kick. The game marked the Hammer's full international debut, but on Saturday he will be hoping to influence the match for 90 minutes, not just an hour as was the case against the Swedes.
Although he is technically still on the transfer-list, Sinclair has maintained that he will continue to give his all for the east London outfit and this is backed up to some degree by his persistent wing play. The Claret-and-Blue's number eight has attempted twice as many dribbles than Beckham, although the England skipper has beaten his man 76% of the time - 11 percentage points better than his opposite number.
But despite this inferior success rate on the run, Sinclair has created four goals for his team-mates this term, which is not surprising given that he has averaged five assists per season over the past three years. In contrast, 'Becks' is struggling to carve out scoring opportunities for his fellow Red Devils with the same emphatic regularity that he mustered last season.
The white-booted maestro has set up more goals than any other Premiership player for the past three seasons - including a dozen during 2000-01 - yet this year he has only provided the ammunition for two strikes.
This is not to say that pinpoint accuracy has deserted Beckham's game altogether. He has sent 34 centres in flight from the flanks and picked out a red shirt with more than a third of them. In contrast, Sinclair has reached his intended target with little more than a quarter of his deliveries, although given the nature of United's shaky back-line, even that level of precision may be enough to cause unrest in the United rearguard.
However, the area in which the two players differ the most is in the striking stakes. Beckham has dispatched five goals this season - two directly from free kicks - while the closest Sinclair has come is seeing five efforts saved and sending a simple header over the bar from six-yards against Blackburn.
If the home-based playmaker can raise his game and help his team get among the goals, as either provider or scorer, then United should be good value at 11/2 to win by 2-0.
Mark Willis