Venue: Old Trafford
Date: Saturday, 31 October 2009
Kick-off: 1730 GMT

Team news

Manchester United welcome Blackburn Rovers to Old Trafford tomorrow with a fully blown injury crisis to battle through.

In defense, Vidic and Ferdinand are both doubtful after picking up calf injuries, while captain Gary Neville is suspended.

Darren Fletcher and Park Ji Sung are still missing in midfield, with Ryan Giggs also carrying a knock and Danny Welbeck injured after shining in the Carling Cup victory against Barnsley on Tuesday.

Samba, Grella and Chimbonda are doubtful for Blackburn, while Jason Roberts will definitely miss the game after contracting swine flu and being ordered to stay away from training.
 
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Rio Ferdinand has spoken about the toughest opponents he has faced during his trophy laden career.

“Raul in the Champions League is one of the hardest I have to play against,” Ferdinand told the Manchester Evening News.

“He doesn’t play against you, he plays away from you. He asks you to come and mark him or let him hurt you with his passing.”

“In training, John Hartson was ridiculous. You’d train with him and get eight studs in your ear. On a Friday, he’d attack you from all angles.

“Kevin Davies is difficult to play against – very physical. But there’s not one player in particular who sticks out.”

Rio was speaking to guests at a question and answer session as part of a ‘Lunch with the Legends’ event at Old Trafford.

Manchester United have apealed against Fabio Da Silva’s booking in the Carling Cup victory against Barnsley on Tuesday.

The defender was booked mistakenly by referee Chris Foy, when it was in fact his twin brother Rafael who made the challenge.

The FA have confirmed they have received the appeal and a decision will be made on whether to overturn the yellow card by a regulatory commission.

United’s Carling Cup hero Danny Welbeck will be sent for a scan on the knee he injured during yesterday’s game against Barnsley.

Welbeck opened the scoring in the 6th minute by heading in Anderson’s corner to set united on the road to victory, but his night didn’t end the way he’d hoped as he had to limp off shortly into the second half.

He didn’t let it spoil the victory though, which was secured by Michael Owen’s clinical finish in the second half.

“It is great to get further in the cups. I’m already looking forward to the quarter-finals. We’ll certainly enjoy it and do our best,” Welbeck told the M.E.N.

“We controlled the game against Barnsley in the second half. The youngsters did well and the experienced players in the team helped us massively.”

“Anderson said he was going to hit it to the front post so I thought I could get it. The area was free so I drifted in and got my head onto it.”

Roberto Martinez has strongly denied the comments attributed to him in the media in the last couple of days in which he allegedly attacked United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The Wigan manager was said to have criticized Sir Alex for using his “group of faithfuls” to do his dirty work, and the FA for “almost apologizing” to him for charging him for his comments against Alan Wiley.

The comments he denies saying are below.

“They (the FA) have just sanctioned Ferguson for saying that referee was not fit enough and the truth is that they’re almost apologising to him for punishing him,” Martinez was reported to have said.

“Any other coach would have been crushed for that.

“Ferguson has been here for a lifetime and that carries a lot of weight.”

“Ferguson has his group of faithfuls, people who are committed to him: Steve Bruce, who was a player with him, Sam Allardyce, who thinks he will be his successor at Old Trafford, and others.

“On the other side, there’s Rafa Benitez and he gets attacked from all sides.”

Martinez has “categorically denied” making those comments and released the following statement through the League Managers Association.

“Wigan Athletic manager, Roberto Martinez, has today categorically denied making the comments about Sir Alex Ferguson that have been attributed to him in a number of media reports. Martinez has referred the matter to the League Managers Association.”

News that David Villa and David Silva will be for sale in the Summer has fuelled speculation linking them with a move to Old Trafford when the transfer window opens.

United reportedly made contact with Valencia this Summer regarding the pair, but were unwilling to meet the asking price. But comments made by Valencia director Fernando Gomez suggest the price may drop as the club are in desperate need of a cash injection.

‘The club made a great effort to keep our players this summer but our economic situation remains very serious,’ Gomez said on Spanish television.

‘It was a success to keep them, but there comes a point when you can’t stand it anymore. We may have to sell Villa.’

With most of the £80million received from Real Madrid for Ronaldo yet to be spent, Sir Alex could use some of it to land one or both of the Spanish stars to bolster his attack for next season.

Foster 7 - Commanded his area well. Dealt with everything Barnsley threw at him and made one excellent reaction save in the 2nd half.

Neville 5 - A reckless challenge in the 2nd half meant an early bath for the captain.

Brown 6 – A decent 90 minutes from Brown, who will be hoping to fight for a regular starting place again soon. Wasn’t as dominant in the air as he should have been, but the time on the pitch will have done him good.

Evans 6 - Similar to Wes, didn’t dominate aerially, but did well to cover for Fabio when he ventured forward.

Fabio 6 – Not his best game in a United shirt. Abandoned his defensive duties more than once, and will have to find the right balance in future.

Obertan 7 - Excellent debut from the Frenchman. Always looked threatening and worked hard for the team by tracking back and breaking up attacks. Early signs are very promising.

Anderson 7 - Dominant in midfield. Dictated the tempo of the game with incisive passing.

Rafael 7 - Did well in midfield, despite never playing there before. Will hope to get back to his usual position for the next game though.

Welbeck 8 - Man of the match. Played out of position on the wing but always looked dangerous. His 6th minute header gave us an early lead.

Owen 7 - Drifted in and out of the game, then took his goal brilliantly. Shrugged off one challenge, drifted past another player and finished clinically into the far corner.

Macheda 6 - Worked ard and had a few good moments, but the game seemed to pass him by.