Sir Alex Ferguson will make numerous changes to the team that
beat Arsenal for Saturday lunch-time’s crucial trip to
Middlesbrough.
With a quick turnaround between trips to the Riverside and the
Emirates Stadium on Tuesday for the Champions League semi-final,
second leg, Sir Alex will freshen up his starting eleven against
Gareth Southgate’s men.
As if the threat of relegation isn’t enough to fire up Boro’s
players, they always seem to raise their game for United’s visit.
But the Reds are keen not to let slip a three-point lead over
second-placed Liverpool, who entertain Newcastle in Sunday’s 13:30
BST kick-off.
“I have got a squad, and I intend to use it,” says Sir Alex.
“The midfield will change and the players up front will also
probably change. I’ll bring some freshness into the team in some
important areas.
“There’s Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson, Ji-sung Park and Nani, who
didn’t play against Arsenal. But I won’t change my back four, which
will be much the same apart from Rio. But up front I’ve got
Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck, and they may be involved.”
Wes Brown could also make his long-awaited return to the
first-team as a substitute. The 29-year-old, who has been suffering
with a foot injury, hasn’t played since the 1-1 league draw with
Everton in October.
“Wes is a possibility,” says Sir Alex. “He has been training
with the first team and has played two Reserves matches. He was
with the squad on Wednesday, and he’s a definite possibility to
play some part of the game. I don’t think we’ll start him, but he
should get part of the game.”
Arsenal have an advantage in that, with four place practically
Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Everton drained the Reds’
resources before a semi-final second leg against Milan, which
United lost 3-0. But Sir Alex says his side is better equipped
now.
“The maturity of the team is there,” he said. “Our performances
away from home have shown a lot of maturity. The display in Porto
was a case in point. When you’ve been in Europe for as long as
these young players, we don’t expect them to capitulate like we did
in Milan a few years ago.
“The difference was that, back then, I was playing the same
players on the Saturday as I was in Europe. Now I have a bigger
squad to cope.”