Manchester United v Benfica: Champions League preview

Ashley Young (centre) is expected to come back in

Wayne Rooney should figure for Manchester United inTuesday's Champions League match against Benfica.

The England striker missed trainingon Mondaywith a knock - but he is expected to be fit for selection for the Old Trafford Group C fixture.

Jonny Evans should also be available despite a tight hamstring, although fellow defender Chris Smalling (foot) will not be available and striker Danny Welbeck (muscle strain) remains doubtful.

Ashley Young will be pushing for a recall after recovering from a toe injury.

United have had a much more solid look about them since the derby defeat - indeed the Reds have not conceded a goal in five matches in all competitions since then.

Keeping clean sheets has been an integral part of our success and we have been careless with our defending, said Sir Alex Ferguson after the weekend win at Swansea. A few weeks ago there was genuine criticism about the defending and the chances opponents were getting. Swansea didnt really make any chances apart from the miss they had in the first half.

It was a solid performance and we never looked like losing the game. We were comfortable and had good possession.

And when you win these games 1-0 it brings the concentration back to a good level which has been lacking.

The concentration we showed is exactly what we need back in the team.

Benfica come into the game off the back of a 1-0 cup win against Naval.

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Rafael, Fabio, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Nani, Valencia, Gibson, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Young, Rooney, Hernandez, Berbatov.

Benfica (from): Artur Moraes, Martin! s, Vitor , Luisao, Garay , Pereira , Witsel, Gaitan, Nolito, Bruno Cesar, Matic, Aimar, O Cardozo, R Moreno, Machado, Amorim, Jardel, Eduardo, Saviola.

Key opponent: Nicolas Gaitan - talented player is attracting interest from across Europe

Prediction: United 1 Benfica 0 - has the be the percentage call given United's recentperformances

Agree with the prediction? Have your say.

Click here for all the latest odds from Betfred.

Tweet