Manchester Utd v BenficaWAYNE ROONEY is expected to be fit for the Champions League game against Benfica tonight, according to his manager.

Alex Ferguson said the reason the Manchester United striker missed training yesterday was because he was still nursing bruises from the Swansea City game at the weekend, but he thought he should be able to make the final European group game at Old Trafford after an extra day’s rest. Jonny Evans should also have recovered from a tight hamstring, though Chris Smalling will not be ready.

Level on points at the top of Group C after a 1-1 draw in Lisbon, both teams know a win would secure a top-spot finish under the head-to-head rule. A draw would see both qualify were Basel to slip up at Otelul Galati, but Ferguson prefers to think both teams will be trying to win. “It should be quite an open battle, with both teams wanting a win, and that’s certainly the result we will be looking for,” he said. “Finishing top of the group is always a great bonus, not just because you avoid the other group winners in the next round but because you get to play your second game at home.”

Ferguson has his own expert on Portuguese football in Nani, although the former Sporting Lisbon player admitted his record in derby games against Benfica was mixed. “Lost one, drew one, won the other,” he said. “But the rivalry is intense, like City v United here. Benfica have a strong midfield and will play some good football but probably with a lot of care because they know they are playing away. I feel if we can control the midfield area we have a good chance.”

Since the 6-1 defeat in the Manchester derby brought the new Premier League reality into United’s life with a jolt, it is Ferguson’s side that has been playing with care, though, as the manager points out, they have been controlling games, too.

United have kept five successive clean sheets in the five matches since City’s spree, and won three of them by a single goal. That statistic would have been four but for the late own goal for Galati in the last Champions League game at Old Trafford, but Ferguson makes no apology for tightening things up, nor for withdrawing Rooney from the front line to a position in midfield.

“It is not a big issue for me,” he said. “Players have addressed the situation well, collectively we have been good and I have been happy with the results. We have won five games in a row, so we have got some momentum again . . . I always say the same thing at this stage of the season and that is you want to get to New Year with a chance. Top would be fine, but near the top still means the run-in would present us with an opportunity.”

Ferguson’s tactical shift has already answered one criticism of United this season, that they were presenting opponents with too many opportunities to score.

Now he is having to face down a second, related grumble: that his side are no longer playing their usual, expansively entertaining brand of football.

“What we are doing is controlling games more,” Ferguson said. “At Swansea on Saturday we may have won by just the one goal but we were always in control . . . I never thought we were in danger of losing the match. I always thought we were in control.

“Since the derby we have controlled and won our two games away from home in the Premier League, and if you can do that you are doing a good job.”

GuardianService