Fergie to ring changes for Schalke

Doubts over Rooney’s inclusion for Champions League semi-final today.

MANCHESTER:

Manchester United will attempt to shrug off domestic disappointment by reaching their third Champions League final in four years by beating Schalke 04 today.

A 2-0 victory in the semi-final first-leg in Germany has left United within touching distance of a place in the May 28 final and, crucially, has given Sir Alex Ferguson freedom to shuffle his pack for today’s return fixture.

The second leg at Old Trafford comes after United’s progress towards a record 19th Premier League crown suffered an unexpected setback with a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, a result that has blown the title race more open.

With United facing Chelsea in a crunch Premier League meeting next weekend that could well decide the outcome of the title, Ferguson has said he will rest some of his key players against Schalke.

“I will make some changes without question,” revealed Ferguson. “I will bring Paul Scholes back in, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen.”

Meanwhile, first leg’s other scorer Wayne Rooney is also a prime candidate to be rested. The striker missed an open training session yesterday due to a tight hamstring. Meanwhile, Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher may make a return to first team after completing 45 minutes in a reserve match.

“We’ll need to do that but I will probably keep my experienced players at the back. We have a big week ahead.”

New strategies

Meanwhile, Schalke travel to Manchester needing goals but know United have conceded only three times in 11 matches in the competition this season. Schalke are fully aware that they need to become a different side from the one that barely put up a fight at home last week.

“We must be much more compact and aggressive than we were in the first game,” said defender Christoph Metzelder.

“In playing terms, we are not as strong as Manchester United and therefore we must surpass ourselves in other aspects. If we are going to pull off a miracle, we must do a hell of a job,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2011.