Wayne Rooney will return for Manchester United here in Romania, charged with the task of resurrecting their faltering Champions League campaign.
Sir Alex Ferguson will unleash Rooney and a virtually full-strength United side on minnows Otelul Galati to try to get their European adventure back on track after starting unconvincingly with two draws.
It is a measure of United’s poor start to the Champions League this season that Ferguson admitted he will be play a strong side in a game which, when the draw was made and with the Manchester derby on Sunday, he would otherwise have contested with a weakened team.
But, after picking up just two points from their opening two Group C games against Benfica and Basle - the latter salvaged with a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw after leading 2-0 at Old Trafford, - Fergie admitted this encounter with the Champions League first-timers was a must-win game.
Rooney, whom Ferguson deemed was not in the right frame of mind to start Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool following the crushing disappointment of the three-match ban which has ruled him out of England’s three group games at Euro 2012, will return to the starting line-up.
Asked if the striker was ready to start for United again, Fergie said: “I think so. Actually, when he came on against Liverpool he was quite bubbly. He was full of energy and enthusiasm.
“He was desperate to get on actually, which is good because when he sat was watching the game he probably said, ‘Christ, I could be out there’. So he’ll be playing [Tuesday].
“I think the initial news [of the ban] was a definite blow for him. He didn’t expect that. I don’t think any of us did.
“To me, it was a silly reaction, but it wasn’t seriously dangerous. It was a slight reaction, but to get a three-match ban?
“When he realised getting a three-match ban meant missing all the games for England and that he might not be involved at all in the European Championship, that resonated in Wayne’s mind.
“I don’t know [if a player with a lower profile would have got away with a lesser ban]. UEFA is strict in a lot of things and they’ve deemed it a three-match ban. I can’t say any more on that.”
Ferguson acknowledged that an away victory over Galati is essential, to ensure United do not put themselves under unnecessary pressure to win their remaining three group games.
“I think we have to win this game,” he said. “I’ll play a strong team. But I could play several [different] teams and they’d still be strong enough to win.
“This game and Sunday’s against City are two very important games. We have to progress in the Champions League and then we have four or five days to recover for the game against City.
“In that sense, the timescale for recovery is perfect for us. It’s the same for City as well, because they play on the same night as us.
“Against Basle, we became very complacent in the match and it’s not a tournament where you can afford to be complacent, so this is an important game for us now.”
United skipper Nemanja Vidic, out since the opening weekend of the season having suffered a calf injury at West Brom, will make his long-awaited comeback, with Ferguson desperate for him to prove his fitness before the City game.
“Hopefully we can get the result we want,” said the Scot. “You can go through all the permutations in terms of the group, but the important thing is for us to try and win our game, which solves all the problems.”
The match has been switched from Galati’s own stadium - which did not meet UEFA requirements - to the National Arena in Bucharest, 150 miles away.
The result is that just 3,000 Galati supporters have bought tickets and are expected to make the trip, with the rest of the anticipated 40,000 crowd made up of Bucharest-based fans and United followers.
Only once since the Champions League was revamped have United failed to win either of their opening two games; ironically, it was in 1998-99, when they went on to create history by clinching the Treble.
Against that backdrop, Ferguson will be hoping history repeats itself for United this season.
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OTELUL GALATI v MANCHESTER UNITED: PROBABLE TEAMS
Otelul Galati (4-4-2): Grahovac; Rapa, Perendija, Costin, Skubic; Frunza, Ibeh, Giurgiu, Bus; Punosevac, Pena
Manchester United (4-4-2): Lindegaard; Smalling, Vidic, Evans, Fabio; Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Nani; Rooney; Welbeck
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OTELUL GALATI v MANCHESTER UNITED: THREE TO WATCH
Gabriel Paraschiv: Galati’s most creative player, an attacking midfielder with great vision and threat. Capped once by Romania.
Sorin Frunza: Left-sided attacking midfielder with explosive pace who likes to run at opponents.
Marius Pena: A pacey striker and clinical finisher. United will have to guard against his excellent runs off the ball.
By David McDonnell
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