Manchester United is expected to reveal todaythat six-month pre-tax profits have more than halved, reflecting the Premiership football club's reduced earnings from European matches, declining media revenues and a rising wage bill.

Analysts predict the club will say pre-tax profits for the half-year to January 31st have collapsed to between £12 million and £13 million - down from £26.8 million for the same period a year earlier.

The decline in profits is likely to be seized on by acquisitive American billionaire Malcolm Glazer who holds a 28.1 per cent stake in United and has been circling the club for months. He is expected to launch a formal offer within the next few weeks, having indicated a provisional offer price of £800 million, worth 300p a share to investors.

His advisers are likely to point out that interim profit levels will have fallen from a high of £30.9 million in 2002, and have reached their lowest level since 2000.

The decline will in part be explained by the £1.1 million write-off related to the sale of Eric Djemba-Djemba to Aston Villa.

It also reflects lower Champions' League earnings, which followed from the club's third-place finish in the Premiership last season.

The Premiership's media rights deal with Sky TV is also less lucrative for clubs than it was last year.

Meanwhile, the board is believed to regard Mr Glazer's £800 million offer as a fair price for the club, but questions still remain about the amount of debt he is likely to use to finance the deal.

Mr Glazer, who owns the US's largest sports club, the American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is being advised on the United offer by NM Rothschild. The investment bank has reportedly completed its inspection of the club's books but formal takeover talks have yet to start. - (Guardian Service)