Rio Ferdinand took his place at the heart of Manchester United’s defence for the Carling Cup semi-final with Manchester City after appealing against his violent conduct charge. Carling Cup team news:
Alex Ferguson deemed the gamble of Ferdinand getting a four-match suspension when the disciplinary panel meets tomorrow as worthwhile given the magnitude of the England star’s presence.
United did spring a surprise with the inclusion of Rafael, who struggled so badly against Craig Bellamy last week.
However, the Brazilian’s youth was matched by that of 19-year-old City centre-half Dedryck Boyata, who, like the first leg, filled in because of Nedum Onuoha’s hamstring injury and the fact Kolo Toure arrived back from African Nations Cup duty in Angola too late to be considered.
Emmanuel Adebayor was on the bench for the visitors, who were defending a 2-1 first-leg lead given to them by former United star Carlos Tevez as they looked to secure a first Wembley cup final appearance since 1981.
Man Utd:Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Jonathan Evans, Evra, Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Nani, Rooney, Giggs. Subs:Kuszczak, Brown, Owen, Berbatov, Park, Vidic, Valencia.
Man City:Given, Richards, Kompany, Boyata, Garrido, De Jong, Barry, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Tevez, Bellamy. Subs:Taylor, Onuoha, Ireland, Sylvinho, Petrov, Adebayor, Ibrahim.