Manchester United will be able to call on the services of Nemanja Vidic for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv after the Serbian defender was passed fit to play in Ukraine.
The 26-year-old had been suffering the after-effects of the concussion he suffered against Wigan Athletic earlier this month but United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been pleased with the defender's recovery.
"There won't be many changes from Saturday. Vidic will come in and we may make one other change, but that's all," confirmed the veteran boss.
Ferguson still has to decide whether to continue with the strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez after the duo impressed in Saturday's 4-1 victory at Aston Villa.
He added: "In Tevez and Rooney we have too exceptionally good footballers. They are both such strong players and a real threat to defenders. It makes them a real consideration for the game against Dynamo, their form's good enough, but there's the tactical part to consider. I'd have liked to have had Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves here. They're ideal European players. We don't have either of them, but we have good options. There's Paul Scholes, Anderson, Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea. We may go with three players in the middle, as we did in Lisbon (against Sporting). That's certainly a possibility. Whatever we do, the intention will be to try and win the match because the rewards are great for us. It's an important game for Kyiv. They'll be wanting to win the match and I expect them to have a go. We see it as an opportunity for us because Roma and Sporting Lisbon have a double header against each other."
21 October 2007
Sir Alex Ferguson has already set his stall out on how Manchester United will play against Dinamo Kiev in midweek.
Due to Dynamo Kiev's two defeats in the Champions League so far, they will have to come out and beat Manchester United in their next two Group E games, a fact that Sir Alex Ferguson will relish as it provides the perfect opportunity to maximise his team's counter-attacking prowess,
'We're in a good position with Sporting beating Dynamo Kyiv,' the Reds boss told Manchester United Radio.
'We've got Kyiv in the next two matches, home and away, but their two defeats mean they have to beat us, which is good. We can set our stall out to play the counter-attack. Dynamo Kyiv have always been a difficult side to beat, especially at home,' he added.
'We drew 0-0 against them there a few years ago. They'll be a real handful. They have always been a club that has been able to produce good young players. Their set-up was designed purely to produce players. It's a fantastic training ground, one of the best in the world. We expect a tough game, but we're in a good position."
Ferguson is not so sure though, on the likelihood of central defender Nemanja Vidic starting against Dinamo,
"I'm hopeful he will be ready," he told reporters after the 4-1 win at Villa Park.
"We will see how he is. He will be close but I'm not sure if he will be ready to play in Kyiv."
The Reds take on Dinamo Kiev at Olympiyskiy Stadium, kick-off is 19:45 BST.
United's Reserves squad was also on the trip and they will play in a friendly against Dinamo Kiev's second string.
United squad: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Ferdinand, Brown, Vidic, EVra, Pique, Simpson, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Anderson, Nani, Fletcher, Eagles, Rooney, Tevez.
