Soccer Champions League The horrors and the hopes all thrive in the imagination and it will take tonight's second leg tie with Porto in the Champions League to hint at the reality of Manchester United's season. Sven-Goran Eriksson made the semi-final draw for the FA Cup that locks them with Arsenal, and if it all goes wrong for United on April 4th there may be fringe benefits for the England coach.
There would be no big occasions to exhaust his squad's United contingent in the two months before Euro 2004. That is definitely not Alex Ferguson's preferred solution to the curse of fixture congestion.
The outcome of the Premiership does not lie in United's hands, but there are opportunities to be grasped, particularly in the Champions League. The manager's main difficulty lies in the uneasy displays of his team.
"I thought we got off lightly in the first leg," he said of the 2-1 defeat. His wish now is to persuade his players that they should be suffused with optimism. Ferguson, while giving such an oration, need only ensure that his men do not start brooding over their defending.
United have been feckless there, particularly since Rio Ferdinand voluntarily began his suspension. "If we don't let in a goal I think we will go through," said Ferguson, begging the question of whether a clean sheet is feasible. Even Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup win over Fulham contained the emblematically foolish concession of a penalty.
That lapse could cost the culprit Wes Brown his place, should Ferguson favour the know-how of Gary Neville in central defence. The problem of the back four overshadows any concern about the absence of Roy Keane, since United have grown used to doing without a captain who has missed almost a third of their Champions League games over the last five years.
Keane was sent off in Oporto a fortnight ago after letting his foot come down on the goalkeeper Vito Baia. This inspired a diatribe from Ferguson about the over-reaction of the goalkeeper and there have been observations about alleged cheating and time-wasting by the Portuguese champions.
"On one side there is emotion, on the other there is intelligence," said Jose Mourinho, Porto's coach. He was not so much alleging dim-wittedness as an effort by Ferguson to heighten the atmosphere.
"It's difficult for me to understand why they are so worried," Mourinho said in faux innocence. "They beat Porto 4-0 the last time we came here (in 1997). They are the better team; they have everything. Why are they afraid?
"We don't need to speak about cheating. The reputation we have is as a team with a small budget that won the UEFA Cup. We are here to play against a wonderful team. If we lose we will go home to play against Boavista next weekend with a smile on our face."
The unbeaten leaders of the Portuguese League have yet to lose an away match in the Champions League this season. United can expect to score but a defence that could include a fit Mikael Silvestre will have to prove its solidity if the club's season is not to disintegrate.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2, possible): Howard; P Neville, G Neville, Silvestre, O'Shea; Ronaldo, Butt, Scholes, Giggs; Saha, Van Nistelrooy.
PORTO (4-1-3-2, possible): Vitor Baia; Paulo Ferreira, Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Nuno Valente; Costinha; Deco, Alenitchev, Maniche; Carlos Alberto, McCarthy.
Referee: V Ivanov (Russia).
