United on the threshold

Manchester United should leave Old Trafford tonight with spring in their hearts as well as bounce in their step. Victory over Kosice will guarantee them a place in the quarter-finals next March, and it is hard to foresee any result except a home win. Juventus, losers last night, have made things easy for United.

A comfortable, disciplined 3-0 win against the Slovakian champions in September embarked Alex Ferguson's team on a further quest for the prize which still eludes him. The memorable 3-2 triumph over Juventus a fortnight later, followed by two victories over Feyenoord, have brought United back to the threshold of the quarterfinals in a style utterly more convincing than their fitful progress to the last eight a year ago.

All along the United manager has been convinced that the lessons learned in reaching the semi-finals last season would give his side a better chance this time, and events have yet to prove Ferguson wrong. The team are a much tighter unit now, less given to those lapses of concentration which are apt to be punished rather more severely in the Champions League than in the Premiership.

Last season much, too much perhaps, rested on the form of Ryan Giggs and the mood of Eric Cantona, who was rarely at his best in Europe either for Leeds or Manchester United. Giggs remains crucial to Ferguson's chances of reaching the final but Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil, now play like seasoned Europeans instead of English innocents abroad.

This has enabled Ferguson to withstand the loss of Roy Keane from his midfield and, after the match in Rotterdam three weeks ago, Denis Irwin from his defence. Butt and Ronny Johnsen have proved more than adequate covers for Keane, who will need the rest of the season to recover from damage cruciate knee ligaments, and while Irwin hopes to be back playing before Christmas Phil Neville is maturing fast as a left-back of international quality.

The team Ferguson is expected to field tonight will have a settled look about it despite the absence of some familiar names, which is a reflection of the strength in depth of United's squad. Gary Pallister, still feeling the odd twinge from the recurrence of a back injury, will almost certainly be replaced at centre-back by the versatile Johnsen although all Ferguson would reveal yesterday was that the Norwegian would appear somewhere.

Beckham, a second-half substitute against Wimbledon last Saturday, will start the match and so should Andy Cole, the principle conqueror of Feyenoord with his hat-trick in Rotterdam, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be brought on at some point.

This will be Scholes's last appearance for United before he begins a three-match domestic ban as a result of five yellow cards. Scholes misses Sunday's Premiership tie against second-placed Blackburn Rovers, who are a point behind United, the visit to Liverpool a week tomorrow and the home encounter with Aston Villa on December 15th. But he will be available for the return match against Juventus in Turin on December 10th which winds up the Champions League group.

By then, for United, the quarter-finals should be a comfortable thought to accompany their renewed efforts to retain the Premiership title. And the two goals Kosice recently pulled back against Juventus in the Stadio Delle Alpi, after going three down in the first hour, should be sufficient to banish any complacent thoughts from United's minds which might somehow have escaped Ferguson's attention.

Manchester United (probable): Schmeichel, G Neville, Berg, Johnsen, P Neville, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Giggs, Sheringham, Cole.

FC Kosice (probable): Molnar; Semenik, Telek, Kozak, Toth, Kral, Sovic, Zvara, Janocko, Kozlej, Lubarskij.