United trio eye CL return

Robin van Persie, Antonio Valencia and Shinji Kagawa are set to start for Manchester United's Champions League clash with Galatasaray.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson opted to start the trio on the bench for Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win against Wigan with Van Persie and Kagawa both picking up knocks while away on international duty with the Netherlands and Japan respectively. However as the Red Devils aim to avoid a repeat of last season's disastrous Champions League group exit, the duo and Valencia are set to be thrust back into the starting XI against the Turkish outfit at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Patrice Evra could be reinstated at left-back after Alexander Buttner got the nod for the Wigan match and marked his first senior start with a goal. Wayne Rooney is still recovering from a nasty leg gash, while Ashley Young is still not back in training with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones longer term absentees. Anders Lindegaard and David De Gea will both be hoping they get the nod in goal as Ferguson continues to rotate the duo this season. Summer signing Nick Powell got his first goal for United against Wigan on Saturday and he is hoping to get his first taste of Champions League football. He told the club's website: "It's a competition I've dreamt of playing in. When you watch the likes of United, Real Madrid and Barcelona, you want to play against them because they're the best in the world. "I'm just looking forward to experiencing the whole atmosphere of the games. You can get a lot of lively atmospheres in Europe - I've heard all about the Galatasaray fans and how much noise they make. Hopefully it will be a good game on Wednesday."