TO MOST observers, it is inconceivable that Manchester United could fail to be involved in tomorrow’s draw for the group stages of the Champions League, but Sir Alex Ferguson disagrees. Careless habits, he says, have been responsible for the underachievement in Europe over the past five years and, while it may take something far worse than complacency to bring about a win for Dynamo Bucharest at Old Trafford tonight, the United manager is aware of the dangers.
“We are at home and, with the experience we’ve got of European football, we should have enough to get through — as long as we’re not careless,” Ferguson said. “There’s always a danger that we can be careless. It’s just the nature of the way we play, the fact that we always want to go forward. The important thing about Europe is that you guard against the counterattack. It’s vital at this level.”
Dynamo looked dangerous on the counter-attack in the first leg, claiming the lead before Ryan Giggs and an own goal gave United what should be an unassailable lead. Ferguson is considering giving Darren Fletcher and Kléberson their first appearances of the season.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): T Howard — G Neville, R Keane, M Silvestre, J O’Shea — D Fletcher, E Djemba-Djemba, Kléberson, R Giggs — P Scholes — A Smith.
DINAMO BUCHAREST (3-4-2-1):
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V Munteanu — G Galamaz, C Ciobotariu, G Iordache — A Margaritescu, A Pacurar, I Balan, D Semeghin — F Petre, I Danciulescu — C Niculescu.
Referee: M Merk (Germany).
TELEVISION: Live on ITV1, from 7.55pm (kick-off 8.10pm).