United cannot afford to lose

SOCCER: Man Utd (0) v Zalaegerszeg (1) - Old Trafford, kick-off 8.10 Live on Network 2 and BBC 1:  Manchester United are set to lose more than £15 million should the unthinkable happen at Old Trafford tonight and they fail to overturn the 1-0 deficit from a traumatic evening in Budapest 13 days ago.

The financial fall-out would all but wreck Alex Ferguson's aspirations to re-establish his team as credible challengers for the European Cup during his final two seasons in office.

Ferguson says failing to qualify for the Champions League against Zalaegerszeg would be an "absolute disaster". Peter Kenyon, the club's chief executive, estimates that the £15 million television revenue and prize money would be lost at a stroke.

Add to that around £1 million in gate receipts for every home game in the competition, plus £450,000 a point in the group stages and considerably more should they advance further, and it becomes clear why Ferguson's players are under huge pressure to retrieve a tie they dare not lose.

The price of prestige is another matter, and that is what will drive Ferguson and his players hardest. "We've had some great journeys in this competition - it's the only place to be," the manager said.

He did not relish the role of onlooker in his native Glasgow at last season's final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen and, with Old Trafford hosting the party next May, it would be equally as galling to go the next nine months watching from the outside.

Ferguson is confident that if his players replicate the form they displayed in Friday's 2-2 draw at Chelsea "we will win easily". However, their chances will not be helped by the absence of Fabien Barthez with a hip injury, leaving Roy Carroll as the only available goalkeeper with first-team experience.

Ferdinand has resumed light training after damaging his ankle in the pre-season friendly against Boca Juniors, but Ferguson indicated yesterday that he was not entirely satisfied that the England defender had regained full fitness.

Ferguson expects United's Hungarian opponents, embarking on their first season in Europe, to form a stubborn defensive barrier, but he will also be wary that an away goal would mean his side have to score three times. "Our concentration has to be good. That is the biggest threat to us going through," he said.

"They defended like tigers in Hungary but we still created five clear chances. We were always going to get a lot of criticism losing to a side that no one had ever heard of. That's part and parcel of being Manchester United. But we lost only because we failed to take our own chances."

Zalaegerszeg will be straining every muscle in an attempt to cause a huge shock.

Manager Peter Bozsik said yesterday he was conscious of the gap in resources between the clubs: "The entire cost of our team would only pay David Beckham for a couple of months," he said. "That is why it is such an honour to play against them and that is why it would be one of the biggest achievements Hungary has ever had if we could beat them tomorrow."

Bozsik insists his team will not intentionally sit on their advantage - he just fears they might be forced to. "For the last two weeks we have not been able to walk the streets because of the number of people coming up to congratulate us," he said. "It feels sensational. I just hope after the game I'm not feeling very sad.

"I don't give us any more than a six per cent chance of winning the match but I would like to give them a good game."

Bela Koplarovics' strike two weeks ago will not be enough to earn him a place in the visitors' starting line-up. Instead, Bozsik will rely largely on the players who held United. However, Zalaegerszeg's preparations have been less than ideal - they were beaten 3-0 by MTK on Friday.

The form line therefore suggests a comfortable home win, even if Bozsik has identified a weak link to exploit. "I understand United's defence is their Achilles heel," he said. "If we can get far enough up the field we will see if we can find any gaps."

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): Carroll; P Neville, O'Shea, Blanc, Silvestre; Beckham, Keane, Veron, Giggs; Solskjaer, Van Nistelrooy.

ZALAEGERSZEG (3-5-2): Ilic; Czoka, Urban, Budisa; Babati, Ljubojevic, Vincze, Egressy, Szamosi; Farago, Kenesei.