Manchester Utd v FulhamWayne Rooney is set to return to Manchester United's starting line-up alongside Carlos Tevez for the tonight's Premier League match against Fulham after almost a month out of action with an ankle injury.

And despite losing Rooney for only three games, one of which was a defeat at Bolton, his manager, Alex Ferguson, admits that the England striker has been missed. "Wayne's combination with Carlos Tevez was looking good, but you miss these players when they are out. You cope, but you still miss them," he said.

"Wayne hasn't even been out for a month since suffering the injury, but his fitness levels are good and it won't take him long to get back to his best. He scored in something like seven games in a row before the injury, so hopefully he can get back to that kind of form."

United need to win against Fulham to leapfrog Chelsea and Liverpool and reclaim second spot behind Arsenal. But Ferguson admits that Fulham will pose a stern challenge with Lawrie Sanchez' team in need of points to stay clear of the relegation zone.

He said: "December is a telling time for a lot of teams in the bottom half of the league. Once you get to January it's very difficult after that. You don't tend to see teams going on big runs after Christmas and if you get caught down in the bottom half it's not easy to get out."

Ryan Giggs says there are no alarm bells ringing after their shock loss to Bolton. "Outside the club, a lot is made of it when we lose a game," he said. "But inside there are no alarm bells. You have to be realistic - everyone is going to lose occasionally. One game is nothing. It is when you lose two or three on the bounce that you should really start worrying."

Although it is not totally unheard of for Fulham to win at Old Trafford - they last managed it in 2003 - United have triumphed in their last five meetings. With no internationals to disrupt them until February and top spot in their Champions League group confirmed already, United effectively have a two-month run in which to flex their title muscles.

It is a time of the year when United have traditionally been at their strongest - and Giggs is hoping history repeats itself. "Like any team, if we are in good form, we want the games to come thick and fast. We hope we can get our form going into the Christmas period again, because there are four or five games within 10 or 11 days - with a lot of points to be won."