Champions League Preview: Rangers v Manchester United

Manchester United will welcome back striker Wayne Rooney for a potentially tricky trip to Ibrox in Group C of the Champions League.

Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed earlier this week that Rooney is likely to get a full 90 minutes against Rangers on Wednesday night. However, it’s not clear whether United will go for a 4-5-1 formation with Rooney leading the attack or play a 4-4-2 with Dimitar Berbatov completing the strike partnership.

Rangers are likely to fly out of the traps and will try to hit United hard in the opening stages of the match. This could force Ferguson to flood the midfield, which he should be happy to do as United have more than enough quality to soak up any pressure and destroy Rangers on the counter attack.

A win for United will put Ferguson’s men into the last sixteen of the competition. Three points will virtually insure United’s position at the top of the group, which will mean a favourable draw when the Champions League starts to head towards the business end of the competition.

Rangers will be looking to cause an upset and will fancy their chances of beating anyone on their own ground. The Scottish side played efficiently during the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford but the bookmakers do have United as the favourites at a best price of 5/6 just below evens. A Rangers victory is a longer price of 4/1.

The big team news is that United will not have defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic available for the game. Wes Brown looks set to keep his place at right back even though Rafael Da Silva is recovering well from a dead leg injury. Anderson, Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen will play no part in the match. Paul Scholes could be given the nod if Ferguson decides he needs extra experience in the middle of the pitch. Ryan Giggs is also set to return but will start from the bench.

This could be the perfect game for Wayne Rooney to prove that he is fully committed to the Manchester United cause. United have not been playing well over recent weeks and Rooney should be relishing the chance to dominate the Rangers defence in a hostile environment. Rooney is a good price at 4/1 to score the first goal and 11/8 to score at any point in the game.

United also have an edge over the last five games that each club has played. United have scored a total of nine goals in all competitions compared to Ranger’s seven. United have not lost in their last five games while Rangers were comprehensively beaten 3-0 away at Valencia on November 2.

This will be a good old fashioned British European night fought between two of Britain’s most historic clubs. As much as Rangers fans will be hoping for a win, United have far too much quality and a 2-0 United win looks a good score at a best price of 7/1.