RICKY SBRAGIA claims to be pleased Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov et al will not play for Manchester United at Hull City on Sunday. Sunderland’s manager is praying Hull do not beat United and potentially leapfrog and relegate his own team but he dismissed theories suggesting Alex Ferguson’s side will give Phil Brown’s struggling ensemble an easy game.

Instead, a man whose players will be assured of safety if they can beat Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, argues that Ronaldo and company would have been far more inclined to coast to protect themselves from injury and conserve energy ahead of the Champions League final.

With the European showpiece against Barcelona in Rome coming just three days after the season’s final league game, Ferguson has made it clear he will rest key personnel at the KC Stadium but Sbragia, who once served as reserve-team coach at Old Trafford, remains unfazed. “The concern you would have if Sir Alex played his senior players is, ‘Are they going to want to get involved and risk getting injured and missing the Champions League final?’” said Sunderland’s manager.

Unlike some of his peers, Sbragia does not, however, expect Ferguson to field a youth side. “I do think with an English team being in the Champions League final it would have been better if all the Premier League games had been played a day earlier, on Saturday, but Sir Alex won’t put out a team of youth players, I will tell you that now,” he insisted. “I would expect people like Darren Fletcher, Gary Neville and maybe Wes Brown to start.”

As someone still in regular contact with the United camp, Sunderland’s manager speaks with some authority. Fletcher, of course, is suspended for the meeting with Barcelona but Sbragia – further encouraged by suggestions Rio Ferdinand may play some part at Hull to prove his fitness ahead of next Wednesday – remains in touch with the midfielder he coached in United’s second string. “Darren has been very down,” he revealed.

“But I expect him to play, and play well, at Hull. Manchester United will play a team that can beat Hull . . . Look at the supposedly weakened team United put out in the FA Cup semi-final – it nearly got them to the final.”