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Review: Manchester United 2-1 Blackburn Venue: Old Trafford

Time: 17:30 (GMT)

Manchester United taking on Blackburn Rovers looking to extend their unbeaten run to 15 games since their defeat to Arsenal back in November. It was also the last time United conceded a goal in the premier league.

Blackburn on the other hand had an uphill task to stay in the league as they are stuggling in the bottom 3. But the good thing is they have played generally well and yet went on to loose. It will be nearly impossible for them to even get a point from OT.

Sqauds:

Manchester United:
Starting XI: Tomasz Kuszczak, Jonny Evans( Nemanja Vidic 64'), Patrice Evra, Rafael da Silva, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani(Carlos Tevez 64'), Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes(Ryan Giggs 82'), Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney

Subs not Used: Ben Foster, Danny Welbeck, Darren Fletcher, Fabio da Silva

Blackburn Rovers:
Starting XI: Paul Robinson, Andre Ooijer, Ryan Nelsen, Stephen Warnock, Gael Givet, David Dunn(Tugay 73'), Vincenzo Grella(Benny McCarthy 79'), Morten Gamst Pedersen, Keith Andrews, El-Hadji Diouf(Keith Treacy 83'), Roque Santa Cruz

Subs not Used: Jason Brown, Aaron Mokoena, Zurab Khizanishvili, Jason Roberts

It came as a real shock for me when i looked at the team sheet and saw there was no Van der Saar, maybe in the view of the upcoming Champions League match against Inter and the Carling cup final against Spurs, he was rested. Vidic on the bench meant that Johnny Evans would get a chance, i have been really impressed with his performance and it was only fair that he got fair amount of chances to grow as a player.

The first half was really very gripping to be honest with both the teams creating opportunities to score and scoring as well. It was not as many expected that Blackburn will be put under tremendous pressure and simply give in, no it was not. Blackburn fought very bravely and surged forwards. The first goal came as a result of a brilliant ball by Nani, which Nelson failed to clear in the box and Rooney grabbed the opportunity and scored giving United the lead in the 23rd minute.

But Manchester United's 14 match clean sheet record came to an end when both Nani and Paul Scholes waited for each other to collect a loose ball , allowing Andre Ooijer to step in and dart forward. Ooijer then slipped a pass to Santa Cruz. With Rio Ferdinand closing in on the South American, there was no need for Tomasz Kuszczak,to dart out. Both United players then committed themselves to a tackle, allowing Santa Cruz to calmly continue his run and tap into an empty net. It was a run that had to end at some point of course. Manchester United scored through Johnny Evans when he headed a Nani corner home but the goal was disallowed for a non-existing foul.

The second half started brilliantly for the visitors when they created a few chances and were really looking to get all 3 points. United had also made their intentions clear. It was all set for a brilliant half of football. Blackburn came close, very close to scoring and taking the lead around the hour mark when Nelson hit the woodwork and Diouf's shot was saved somehow by Kuzczak. But they will be very sorry they did not score as within minutes United scored...Keith Andrews brought down Evra close to the penalty box and Ronaldo hammered in a shot which Robinson could do nothing about.

Just after the goal Evans and Nani was substituted and in came Vidic and Carlos Tevez. The departure of Evans might have raised a few concerns before the Inter match as Vidic is suspended. Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo had chances to score towards the end of the game but failed to hit the target and the score read 2-1 to united at the end of the game which meant United have an 8 point lead over Liverpool who play Man City later tonight.

Unstoppable United March to Top... A lot has happened since I last posted anything here and that was in September, almost half-a year back..time just seems to fly. Why I did not post, there are a lot of reasons, but I don’t think I should be writing that, When I last posted United, had lot of injury problems and a very unfair-fixture,lost a couple of games,drew a few, in total a very bad start. Many said, they will not be winning the league this season, and given the start, I had a small doubt myself. But now the tables are turned on its head, those who said we are not going to win the league are writing off all other clubs to winning it, how strange.

What is even more intresting is the clean sheets we have kept. 13 games without conceding a goal in the league, and most of the matches,we did not have our best defence. There were like 7-8 games Rio did not play, a few in which Evra was missing. But the best thing is that whoever replaced them did really well. Evans and Rafael have really showed what they are capable of. And one has to say that EVDS has been really brilliant.Even though he has been helped by having some brilliant defenders infront of him, but credit has to be given too him,for he made some brilliant saves. Hope he continues till the end of the season. It looks impossible at this point that he will let a goal in, but that also seems a lil unrealistic as well…

Another good thing that I have to stress upon is that we have been improving in every aspect of our game. There were some games where I feel, United were a little too defensive, trying very hard not to conceed a goal, and that probably made us a bit too cautious. We were not the kind of free-flowing relaxed team and that worried me. But now esp in the game against Fulham(this was the first game I watched since Chelsea where we scored more than 1 goal. And the Chelsea game was brilliant..Men against KG kids..wish we scored more ;)..). What I loved is Berbatov’s goal. It was a move full that probably would have resulted in a goal against any opposition. [Here you can see the move(in pics)]. The game against Fulham, was the game in hand for us. It was important for us to win it as this would mean we would go 5 points clear of 2^nd place (surpsingly!!) Liverpool. It is the first time in probably 5 months or so that the top 5 teams have played the same number of matches.

When everything was going just right for us, some of our opponents have not had a good time at all..Chelsea for instance is in totters..They have sacked Big Phil..The hype, the rumors and all the oohs and ahs when he took over in May or June last year has died out all too soon. It is probably Chelsea’s 5^th manager in the same number of years in the form of Guus Hiddink. Well, I am not particulary intrested in whats wrong out there,because everything is!! It was probably just as Sir Alex Ferguson had said even before the season started, when he wrote Chelsea completely off from winning the league..

At Anfield, Robbie Keane..Ha..Back to Spurs!! LOLZ…Why the hell did they buy him in the first place!! Also they have lost the momentum and are now 5 points behind..And they have not been in the finest of forms as well..In 2009,out of the last 6 games, Liverpool has managed to get 12 points when United has got all 18. Also they have won only 2 of their last 6 games at home. That too at that time when United has won 5 and drawn 1 ie 16 of 18 points..Thats easily covers the 5 points lead United have.

United are more than favorites to win the League, but they are also in the finals of Carling Cup(which is against Spurs on March 1), Last 16 of champions league and quarter-finals of the FA Cup. It means that United's in the running for doing an impossible task ie to win all 4 cups ie the quadruple..Hope it happens :)

Liverpool 2-1 United Oh dear Oh dear..Its been 4 days since trauma @ Anfield that was probably a reason why i had been sick.. Or was it something else? Eager i was for the biggest battle but i have to say United seemed to be playing by too low a standard than usual. For the first 25 min or so, everything looked great, an early goal, lots of movement on and off the ball, it looked great and i swear i felt we were gonna thrash them. All nerves and tension went right through the window, it was matter of by how much we will won rather than are we going to win or not.

Such was the intensity of the game in the opening few minutes, i dared not to blink, for i was not wanting to miss anything. Oh no i did not. But slowly we were losing the hold, Edwin Van der Saar nearly messed it up when he made yet another blunder from a corner this time and luckily i think the shot from Kuyt struck his arm and Brown cleared it. I thought i nearly missed a beat there.

But fate seems to be favoring the Scousers as it has on their previous 2 victories this season, yet another error from VDS and this time most unfortunately, the ball it Brown as VDS tried to clear it (i personally feel he should not have) and made a right mess of it, the ball hit Brown and went in. United were surely guilty of letting their opponents work their wasy abck into the match. Liverpool were clearly the better side from then on.

I don't know what went wrong or what happened but we never kept the ball for more than a couple of minutes if i remember. We kept losing the ball and at this level it is NOT AT ALL ACCEPTABLE, AT LEAST NOT FROM UNITED.

The second half commenced and there were a few changes, Carrrick seemed to have injured himself after a tackle with Benayoun( i do not give a damn if the spelling is right or wrong, so dare not point it.) and was replaced by Giggs. Nani was also brought on for Anderson, i did not remember if ever played or not!!

Well things just was getting worse and worse for us, Liverpool were much much better than us on that day, not like we don't have a squad to beat them, if every United played as much as 50% of their best, we could have given them a sound thrashing any day, any place any time, but it just was not our day.

To aggravate things, Giggs made one error of not kicking the ball out of play and just waited for it to go out and he lost the possession and Babel scored. Damn him!! they were up 2 goals to one, the FIRST GOAL THAT "THEY" HAVE SCORED AGAINST US FOR QUITE SOME TIME IN THE LEAGUE. They had just a goal to show in the last 8 outings and that was scored by a United Player,Here too, first one for Liverpool was scored by Brown.

When things could not get any worse, Vidic goes and gets himself booked for the second time in the match resulting in a RED card and to add more problems for Sir Alex. i was glad when it was all over, i just could not watch any more, it was that pathetic a display from us.

Hope we have our problems sorted out. and by the way what the hell was Rooney doing as a winger? I do not know why, but the midfield never seemed to be the potent threat it used to be..Better sort it out soon... Next up are Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, hope we beat them, that will shut may a idiots out here, laughin at our loss, But its only a matter of time before we dust the problems off and come back strong. But i just hope that it will happen on the 2oth

Finally....We have signed Berbatov | City "snatch" Robinho

Well...finally we signed him. the transfer that we have waited for about 3 months for this news to come. Along with Ronaldo saying he wanted to move out and Berbatov wanting to come in, it gave me enough reasons to read almost all English paper's online editions, blogs, and numerous sites about United. Every day went by with much anticipation and expectation about the deals.

But now everything has been settled. Ronaldo has agreed to stay at least for one more season. Well staying on Ronaldo, reports have come that he may well be playing for United by the end of this month. This definitely is a great news for us. Ronaldo will still be a key player for us and we hope that he gives us his best.

Now moving onto the biggest news. Dimitar Berbatov has finally signed for United. But this was not before Manchester City who were taken over by Abu Dhabi United Group who have more funds than Roman Abramovich. City had their bid of about £34.2m for the Bulgarian striker accepted by Spurs but Berbatov reports has it that did not talk to any one from the Blues.

Berbatov was at Old Trafford talking to David Gill and sir Alex Ferguson. Some have also said that City could have snatched Berbatov away from United with such a huge bid, but it was all proved wrong when Berbatov finally signed for United.

But another great news for us is that City did manage to snatch a player from right under cheslea's noses. They had the Brazillian Robinho for something in the range of £32m. The player was reported to be going to Stamford Bridge, but at the last minute, City got him and left Chelsea and Peter Kenyon shell shocked. Its been said that had it not been for their clumsy handling of the deal, Chelsea could have had Robinho playing for them.

Manchester United vs Newcastle United Preview Manchester United will start its title defense against Newcastle United tomorrow at Old Trafford. In the previous season United scored a massive 11 goals against Newcastle of which 5 were from Ronaldo. Now that he is injured and wont be available for next couple of months, a lot will depend on Tevez(who looks exceptionally fit n fresh) and Rooney(who has recovered from the "mysterious virus").

Sir Alex Ferguson has also told the press that there could be a surprise for them in a couple of days when was asked about the BERBATOV deal for the umpteenth time. Whether or not Berba will be playing for United this sunday is not yet decided but reports have come that he has given Spurs a request for transfer. Spurs would not want a player who wants to play elsewhere so the deal is likely to go through.

Well back to the game then, Newcastle will mostly be without the services of Micheal Owen who has still not recovered from mumps and also has a calf strain. Keegan's problems are exacerbated by Jonas Gutiérrez still not being registered for the Premier League. The Argentinian winger's former club Real Mallorca are refusing to release his registration documents.The Argentinian Fabricio Coloccini was also still to complete his £10m move.

But one player who is almost certain to play tomorrow is Wayne Rooney who has made a rapid recovery from the stomach virus he picked up when United played a pre-season friendly in Nigeria.

United close to signing Berba| Spurs told to show proof| Terry's crap

Manchester United are close on signing Dimitar Berbatov from Totenham Hotspurs. Spurs have also lodged a formal complaint against United tp the Premier League saying that United are "tapping" Berbatov. Well Levy has gone on to tell the 3 man delegation that United's intrest in Berbatov is "a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference."

But the 3 men bench has asked Spurs to get some concrete evidence against united within 3 weeks before they dismiss the case. Berbatov has been for long wishing to come to Old Trafford. But the price tag that has been put up on him by Levy has made it difficult for him to make his "dream" move. The Champions League action that he missed @ White Hart Lane has made him consider moving to Old Trafford.

But seems like Spurs were furious that the 3 men delegation had not given United any warning or found them guilty of "tapping" up Berbatov. But they have forgotten that this is MANCHESTER UNITED not that REAL MADRID who does things like this..there was no way Spurs could have gotten the verdict in their favour..

Papers report that Levy wants to bend United to their terms making United pay a BRITISH RECORD £32m for Berbatov. That would represent an £18m profit on the player they signed from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 and has scored 23 goals in each of his 2 seasons.

Now another news that John Terry has said that United have peeked and they wont have another level to go to..and that Chelsea is ready to up the level with some new players.. Joking are you???

Ferguson: we don't need to make signings Sir Alex Ferguson definitely has the confidence in his squad that has been hit with Injuries,viruses and Olympics. He has said that there will be no signings at least for the start of the season(click HERE for the report).

Adding a striker to give our attacking a bit of boost was what seemed the only thing that could happen in this transfer period(excluding Ronaldo saga). But with Tottenham it was not that easy and has sort of frustrated United though sir Alex has denied this.

But from the match against Juve(for match report, clik HERE), it was rather certain that SAF had confidence in his younger players and we may well see them getting some quality experience and time on the pitch. Hope they will deliver when the time has come. I am definitely impressed by the Brazillian twins especially Rafael who did do well against Juve. This what SAF had to say about him “We’re very pleased with his progress and the boy has a great chance. When you bear in mind the fact that he’s not played for a year, it was a very promising debut at Old Trafford.” ( courtesy manutd.com)
Lets just hope that we do not have a start like the last time around..hoping for the best

Christiano Ronaldo: Is he leaving or not ??

Its been months now since the saga has started and has been on almost every newspaper and channels that i can remember. This is one transfer drama that has beat many a soap-operas with the swings and twists it had.

The drama has stretched so long that many have just lost interest and would love this one to be over at the earliest. The main players were Manchester United, Ronaldo and Real with some backstage characters like Schuster(who is Real's coach,still is unaware of whats going on at Real), FIFA president Sepp Blater who has gone to the extent of blaming United of slavery..sick isnt it?? and some other managers in the Premiership who would love Ronaldo to leave as he is one player who has given them nightmares.(the whole squad is a nightmare for other bosses though).

Some have gone on to even say that Madrid made the bid as there was a rift between United and Ronaldo due to his contract. Ronaldo wanted a new contract while United refused and that because of this Ronaldo became angry and was convinced by some that Real could give him what he wants. Something that you will get only at real is inflated egos and not the proper teamwork and team spirit that we have seen at United.

The rumour mill was probably at its best during the Euros as a host of players were linked to United but the ominous absence of United in the transfer market has been a bit of shock and surprise. But the question that was on every one's minds was will he leave or will he not.

Few weeks back there was a meeting between Sir Alex and Ronaldo to decide his future and then he said that Ronaldo was staying at United. If SAF has gone to say it publicly then i dont think Ronaldo would be leaving this season. But so far Ronaldo has not confirmed on anything. Wish he gets some sense knocked in to him.

Though it would be a huge difference if he decides to leave but i firmly believe that it will not effect the performance of the team. United is capable of winning with or without Ronaldo. Its the team that is of utmost importance here and as a player you can get better and better day by day but at Real every player is for himself with egos inflating by every second it would be foolish to expect teamwork and team spirit from Real. So personally i would want him to stay. A move to Real will screw his future for sure. In hindi there is a sayin " apne hi pairron pe khuladi marna" which means hitting the axe on your own leg. Wish he will not do the same.

Note: the above picture was from http://www.10thhussar.co.uk

CRISTIANO RONALDO-TOP 5 FREE KICKS IN 07/08

TO WATCH THIS VIDEO IN YOUTUBE CLICK HERE

Manchester United VS Wigan The Premiership Decider

to watch this video in youtube click HERE

CHAMPIONS PART III

CHAMPIONS PART II

CHAMPIONS PART I

Vidic is back!! Sir Alex Ferguson in a press conference told the waiting world the news that every united fan was eager to hear. Yes ma friends Vidic is fit and will play against Blackburn Rovers later toady. Vidic returns has given Ferguson some options. Vidic is another player to return from injury. Recently we had seen Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre.

With vidic back again in the side it will definitely boost the defense. Also another good news is that Nani is back to training and could be on the bench for the game against Blackburn.

ITS UNITED TITLE TO LOOSE.. Thanks to Wigan Athletic(mainly Steve Bruce) who held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, United have now extended their lead to 5 points. With 4 games left, that 5 point lead somehow looks too tough for chelsea to overcome. but football is a game full of surprises where no one can be sure till the last minute. chelsea still have a chance, a very slim chance of but it will all depend on how UNITED play in their 4 games.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has also said that Chelsea can win the title only if they can capitalize on any bad game UNITED have. It will be important for Chelsea to keep winning and keep up the pressure on UNITED hoping that they would make some mistakes.

Having a lead of 5 points has definitely given the boys in reds and their manager Sir Alex Ferguson some confidence of retaining the title but they are also aware of the fact that the game is not yet over as can be seen from Ferguson's comments saying he is "not ready to count his chickens yet".

Though the boys in reds feel they can win both the premiership as well as the champions league they do know the importance of each and every point. The next game for United is against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park where United have known to drop points before. I hope that this time we manage to get 3 vital points from Ewood Park. With one eye firmly on the first leg of the Champions league semi-final against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, we can expect Ferguson to "rest some key players" in order to have them fresh for the clash against Barca. it would not be unusual to see Tevez as the lone striker just as in the game against Roma where Sir Alex Ferguson rested Ronaldo and Rooney to get them really fresh and fit for Arsenal.

But the match every United fan would be keen to watch is Everton vs Chelsea at Goodison Park later tonight. Chelsea will HAVE to win this game if they have to keep the pressure on United who play Blackburn on Saturday. If Chelsea loose and United win on saturday they will be 8 points ahead of Chelsea and possibly out of reach for Chelsea. Chelsea will HAVE TO WIN THE REMAINING 3 MATCHES INCLUDING THE MATCH AT STAMFORD BRIDGE AGAINST UNITED. ALL UNITED WOULD NEED IS TO GET A DRAW AND THEY COULD BE BACK-TO-BACK WINNERS YET AGAIN!!

What me and every other United fan would be hoping is for United to win back-to-back titles and the champions league title. It is for sure that United is favorites for both these titles but it would be too early to say anything as we all know at this stage, the drama is far from over and i hope there are lot more to look forward. And come the end of season i could be celebrating the double for United.

UNITED 2-1 ARSENAL VIDEO here is the video from the Man Utd vs Arsenal match..to watch this video in YOUTUBE click here

UNITED GO 5 POINTS CLEAR AS CHELSEA WERE HELD AT HOME Chelsea dropped 2 vital points in the title race when they were held to a 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge last night. The draw against Wigan gave United a lead of 5 points which would be tough for Chelsea to crack down.

The first half from Chelsea was pathetic to the point they were booed by their own fans. Grant them brought on Joe Cole who seemed to be the galvanizing factor in their performance. He was the architect when Michael Essien scored in the 55th minute giving Chelsea the lead. Chelsea would have thought of victory when Petr Chech pulled off a superb save to deny Wigan substitute Antoine Sibierski. But the joy lasted only few minutes as in injury time Heskey volleyed home a cross from substitute Jason Koumas to leave the gap at the top looking almost too wide for Chelsea to close.

Chelsea next face Everton away on Thursday and if they lose this and provided we win our game against Blackburn who earlier had lost 3-1 to Liverpool, could find themselves 8 point behind United before the title deciding clash at Stamford Bridge on 26th April.

Man Utd 2 Arsenal 1: Hargreaves Sinks Arsenal

Owen Hargreaves scored the perfect free-kick in the 72nd minute to secure a 2-1 win over their closest rival Arsenal at Old trafford. The win extends the lead over Chelsea to 6 points who have a game in hand. Arsenal had to win the encounter at Old Trafford to stay in the fight for the English Premier League. Arsenal’s side showed two significant changes to the defence which conceded four goals at Anfield in the Champions League quarter-final. German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann made a surprise return, with Manuel Almunia presumably injured, while Alexandre Song made a rare start at centre-back after Senderos’ poor show against Liverpool.Hargreaves and Ji-sung Park had retained their places in midfield after impressing in midweek against Roma but Carlos Tevez had to settle for a berth on the bench, with Sir Alex Ferguson selecting Wayne Rooney as a lone striker.
The Gunners made a lively start and after Adebayor’s run was halted by Rio Ferdinand on the edge of the area, Cesc Fabregas rifled a venomous shot just over the bar. Wes Brown will not want to see a replay after gifting the ball to Fabregas.Ferdinand was again called upon to block an Adebayor effort and another attempt from Gilberto was stopped when the second of two Arsenal corners in quick succession was punched less than convincingly by Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman did better on the deck when Adebayor next threatened, diving to his right to hold a low shot.

The end-to-end pace was stretching the play and Brown fell foul of it when he caught Clichy late and was booked for a foul on the Arsenal left-back. Brown was later on the receiving end when the combative van Persie earned his yellow card.Park missed with a header from Hargreaves’ left-wing cross and Rooney fired a shot narrowly wide of Lehmann’s right-hand post.

The second half opened like the first had finished – with chances at both ends, only this time, they were converted by the two sides’ top scorers. Firstly Adebayor met van Persie’s left-wing cross to give Arsenal the lead from close range. It appeared at first glance to be a clean header but TV replays suggested the ball went in off the striker's arm.

Fortunately Ronaldo returned fire for the Reds within six minutes, scoring his 38th goal of the season from the penalty spot. Even the need for a retake - following encroachment by a United player - didn't faze Ronny. He merely blasted the ball past Lehmann for a second time, with the keeper's woe compounded by a yellow card for gamesmanship.

The roar greeting the equaliser was deafening. Sir Alex made a double change in the 55th minute as Tevez and Anderson replaced Park and Scholes. The subs were soon in the thick of the action, notably when Anderson was scythed down by Adebayor who was booked, just before Tevez hit a tremendous effort just past the post. At the other end, Fabregas scooped a shot over the bar.

United could have extremely disappointed had Brown in attempt to clear Clichy's cross scored an own goal but thankfully it struck the post. Earlier Ferdinand could have scored an own goal but for an alert Van Der Saar the threat was taken care of. all the anxious and nervous moments were forgotten 18 minuted from time when Hargreaves scored an absolute master piece, curling a free-kick over the wall and inside the left-hand post, leaving Lehman routed to the spot.

The stadium errupted as the players came together to celebrate a goal that could well decide the title race.The Gunners tried in vain to keep their season alive - substitute striker Nicklas Bendtner had one late header saved by van der Sar while another struck the post - but United were not to be denied three precious points after fighting so hard to claim them.

Red Devils make history with 11 consecutive wins United’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford against Roma last night was a record breaking one as they wrote themselves into the history books by being the only team to record 11 consecutive home wins in the Champions League.Their previous game against Olympique Lyonnais last month put them as joint record holders alongside Juventus.

LAST 11 HOME VICTORIES

2007-2008

09/04/08 Quarter-final second leg

Manchester United 1-0 Roma

04/03/08 Second round second leg Manchester United 1-0 Olympique Lyonnais

27/11/07 Phase 1 Match 5

Manchester United 2-1 Sporting Lisbon

07/11/07 Phase 1 Match 4

Manchester United 4-0 Dynamo Kiev

02/10/07 Phase 1 Match 2

Manchester United 1-0 Roma

2006-2007

24/04/7 Semi-final first leg

Manchester United 3 AC Milan 2

10/04/07 Quarter-final second leg

Manchester United 7-1 Roma

07/03/07 Second round second leg Manchester United 1-0 Lille Metropole

06/12/06 Phase 1 Match 6

Manchester United 3-1 Benfica

17/10/06 Phase 1 Match 3

Manchester United 3-0 Copenhagen

13/09/06 Phase 1 Match 1

Manchester United 3-2 Celtic

Rio boost for Reds

United have been boosted by the news that Rio Ferdinand could be fit to face Roma in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford.

Ferdinand had limped out of Sunday's 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, but a scan on Monday confirmed he had not suffered a broken foot. Rio had missed training on Tuesday morning to have treatment on the injury, prompting suggestions that he would not be fit to face the Italians.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson says the influential centre-back is still in contention as United look to capitalise on a 2-0 first-leg win and book a place in the semi finals.

“We hope he is going to play,” said the Reds boss. “His scan was clear, which is good news. We hope that we can get him fit for the game."

Ferdinand will undergo a fitness test on Wednesday morning, when the decision will be taken whether to play the 29-year-old. Sir Alex added: “The players report to us at 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning, so he will have to do something then.”

There was further good news as the United manager revealed that Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre will both be involved in the squad, with one perhaps making the starting line-up. With some key injured players getting fit and ready to play the invincible United is looking even more deadly. The defence which was defintiely a concern for many with the absence of Vidic and Rio now looks to have got a definite boost with this news.

For Neville, it could be his first outing for the first-team in over a year since suffering ankle ligament damage against Bolton Wanderers in March last year.

“Gary and Mikael will be involved,” he added. “Both won’t start, but one may start depending on Rio’s situation. I’m hopeful that both players will get part of a game. The good thing is they are back and training very well.

“The best news we’ve had with Gary is that he has no interruptions. I’m very pleased with Gary’s progress and he has the ability to play in a match like Wednesday’s.

"We’ll make the decision in the morning, but by that time I could have five different teams!”

With a 2-0 advantage and Arsenal visiting Old Trafford on Sunday, the temptation could be to rest some key players. United will make changes, but not so much that it compromises a potential place in the semi finals.

“I’ve got to play a team that is going to win. It’s difficult to leave players like Cristiano Ronaldo out because of the form he is in.

"There will be one or two changes, but ones that we hope are sensible and will give us the result we want.

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