Rovers ready to capitalise on Sir Alex selection

Manchester United will make wholesale changes but Blackburn are likely to be close to full strength for Wednesday's Carling Cup clash.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be without suspended Cristiano Ronaldo and is also expected to rest strikers Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov for the quarter-final at Old Trafford.

Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra are likely to be rested, but Carlos Tevez is set to start after sitting out Sunday's Manchester derby triumph at Eastlands.

Ben Foster is likely to be handed the goalkeeping shirt, while Gary Neville has shaken off a slight niggle to take the captain's armband.

Danny Welbeck, who scored against Stoke City, is pushing for a place if Ferguson decides to play two up front, but he has started with a 4-5-1 formation in both matches played in this competition so far.

Many punters taking advantage of the £10 free bet are likely to reaffirm their belief that United can get through, but others will be tempted by the chances of Paul Ince masterminding an away win.

Defender Martin Olsson comes back into contention for Blackburn after he sat out Saturday's 3-2 loss at Portsmouth through suspension.

Keith Andrews is ineligible to play, while Vince Grella (calf), David Dunn (Achilles) and Steven Reid (knee) remain sidelined through injury for Rovers.



Manchester United (from): Foster, Kuszczak, Rafael, Evans, Cleverley, Neville, Chester, Vidic, O'Shea, Nani, Park, Fletcher, Anderson, Possebon, Gibson, Giggs, Tevez, Welbeck, Manucho.

Blackburn Rovers (from): Robinson, Brown, Simpson, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Emerton, Khizanishvili, Warnock, Mokoena, Olsson, Tugay, Treacy, Pedersen, Roberts, Derbyshire, Villanueva, Santa Cruz, Fowler, McCarthy.