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    Paul Parker

    United-Leeds still a huge game

    Match of the weekend - Manchester United v Leeds United

    There may now be a couple of divisions between the two sides, but Manchester United and Leeds is still a massive match - and all the history and hatred traded between the two clubs will come to the surface at Old Trafford on Sunday.

    It is a match I have first-hand experience of and it really is a big fixture. I think a lot of the players, with the exception of maybe the local lads on each team, will not truly appreciate the magnitude of the fixture until they walk into the stadium.

    You have to respect what Leeds have done this season. They have been very consistent and are a youthful side with plenty of pace in their team. They will feel they have a chance to cause United some problems.

    If it was against any other League One side you would expect Sir Alex Ferguson to make wholesale changes, but because it is against Leeds I think he will keep a few big names in his starting line-up - not all of them, but a few.

    Fergie will know the importance of the fixture and there is no way he will want to lose. He always relishes games against Liverpool and Manchester City and the Leeds match is up there with those two in terms of rivalry.

    The stadium will packed and the Leeds fans are going to make a hell of a lot of noise because they will get more tickets than usual as it is an FA Cup tie.

    I expect the United fans to raise the atmosphere too because of who they are playing. If both sides were still in the Premier League people would be highlighting this as one of the matches of the season.

    Player to watch - Jermaine Beckford

    Leeds' young striker has been scoring lots of goals in League One over the last few seasons and could be the man to look out for at Old Trafford.

    I remember watching him a number of years ago at non-league level and you could tell even back then that he had something about him.

    However, he has also had an attitude problem in the past and that remains the big question mark surrounding him. He has let minor incidents get to him in the past and that has halted his progress.

    He has a big chance to make an impression against United though because there will be lots of clubs looking at him and seeing how he handles the big occasion.

    Upset of the weekend - Nottingham Forest v Birmingham City

    The way that Birmingham have been playing in the Premier League there will be a lot of people expecting them to beat Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

    However, it will be a really tough test for them as Billy Davies has his young side playing some really good football at the moment. I fully expected Davies to turn Forest around but even I have been surprised at how quickly Forest have moved up the Championship table.

    Davies should never have been sacked as Derby manager, that was an absolute travesty, and I think a lot of people are pleased to see him doing so well again because he deserves it.

    With the way football works at the moment it also wouldn't be a big surprise to see Birmingham rest some of their first-team players for the match.

    If Alex McLeish does do this then I think it would be an understandable decision. People like Lee Bowyer have been superb for Birmingham and McLeish might feel they deserve a rest ahead of their next league game which is a massive clash against Manchester United.

    However, they need to be careful too, because they won't want to go into that match having seen their 11-match unbeaten run ended by Forest.

    Under pressure - Rafael Benitez

    Liverpool may have won their last two games but the pressure remains on Rafael Benitez and they simply must win their tricky away tie at managerless Reading.

    I still think when you look past the pace and quality of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard the rest of the Liverpool side looks vulnerable, especially at the full-back position.

    We have seen in the Champions League in the past that Benitez often mixes up his teams so there is no guarantee that Torres and Gerrard will both start. He might look to try and save them for the next league game.

    If he does that then Reading will feel like they have every chance in front of what will probably be their first full house of the season.

    Liverpool only really have the FA Cup and Europa League to play for though so they cannot afford to be knocked out this early.

    About Paul Parker

    Paul Parker enjoyed a distinguished career for club and country. The versatile defender won 19 England caps and played the 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany. After spells at Fulham and QPR, Paul joined Manchester United in 1991, where he helped the club claim their first league title for 26 years, and won the Double twice. During six seasons at Old Trafford, he played with legends such as Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and David Beckham.

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