From the depths of the Blue Square Conference and a potential giant killing embarrassment, the shoe is now on the other foot as we attempt to giant kill the World Champions.

I won’t comment too much on Manchester United – unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 20 years with your hands over your ears, you’ll know all there is to know from the Red obsessed media.

There are two mistakes that Sir Alex Fergusson will not make however:

(1) Lose sight of this game because of the upcoming Chelsea game

(2) Play a seriously under strength United team and hope to make up any deficit at old Trafford.

Sir Alex is much to cagey for that and the squad that faces the Rams tomorrow is likely to be the same as the one that beat Southampton 3-0 on Saturday:

Van der Sar, Neville, Evans, Vidic, O'Shea, Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs, Welbeck Berbatov, Kuszczak, Park, Rafael Da Silva, Fletcher, Gibson, Rooney, Possebon.

That possibly means no place for Ronaldo who may be rested for the big game on

Sunday however he might make the bench. Carlos Tevez looks set to return after playing for Argentina.

Tevez isn’t happy with the delay on his contract talks and has been openly critical of Sir Alex on Argentinian Radio:

I didn't like him saying I didn't like the offer I was made because neither my agent nor me were given one."

Maybe Tevez will feel the full force of Fergie’s hairdryer and miss out? We could do without him playing but Berbatov & Rooney are more than a handful.

Red Devils facts

The Rams

The defence that conceded three goals at Forest Green on Saturday has been bolstered by the arrival of 20 year old Middlesbrough centre-back Seb Hines on a month’s loan. The player will go straight into tomorrow’s team – A team that is likely to be picked by David Lowe following the departure of Chris Hutchings.

To be honest, even if we were at the top of our form and playing well, you wouldn’t fancy us to take much from this. Okay we’ve been a bogie team for Manchester United in the past but the gulf between us now is far higher than the gulf between us and Forest Green.

One thing I don’t want to see us do is play 5 in midfield in an attempt to stifle the Reds - That rarely if ever works and a far better approach is to attack and harry them at every turn.

Granted that’s likely to lead to yellow cards but it’s a small price to pay going to Old Trafford still in contention.

Hines is likely to go straight into the team for tomorrow so I’d play the following:

Bywater,

Camara, Nyatanga, Hines, Beardsley,

Davies, Addison, Barnes, Commons,

Hulse, Ellington

Probably get thrashed but several of those players are capable of a little bit of magic.

What the Bookies think

The Bookies have Manchester United as 1/2 favourites while the Rams are at 6/1 and the draw 3/1. Ronaldo is better than evens to score at 10/11 with William Hill while the best you can get for Berbatov & Rooney is evens.

Duke Ellington is a 10/3 bet for the Rams while Rob Husle and Tito Villa are 10/3 shots.

Information for travelling fans

Driving: Driving: Manchester to Derby is about 80 miles. Take the M6 then head south until J16 or J15 (not much in it) then A500 to the A50 through Stoke. Follow the A50 to Derby and stay on it until the turn off for Alvaston. There will be traffic around Alvaston however if you stay on London Rd you can get to the parking areas described below. Traffic on the M6 will be the key factor in arrival times but I usually make this journey in less than two hours.

Of course more than a few of you live nearer to Pride Park than I do. So you probably already know the way.

Parking: It used to be at the old Wilmorten College site however that is now a housing estate so away fans should park at Catalyst on London Rd opposite the Navigation pub. It’s about 10-15 minutes from the ground. Don’t be tempted to park at Pride Park shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped. You can also park for a £5 at the hospital further up London Rd near the hospital and the Railway station. Another alternative is to pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way and head for Pentagon Island. Take the first exit and turn left and after a few hundred yards you will come to The Cattle Market Car Park. It’s about 10 minutes walk to the ground from here.

Drinking: There are a few pubs very close to the ground but if you come by train, the locale around the station is fairly inviting. The Crown and Cushion at the junction of London Rd always seems to be full of away supporters. The Brunswick is a must for any real ale fans and the Alexandra next door is my personal favourite. Fans tend to mingle in these pubs and as long as you’re not being aggressive, the atmosphere is good. The Waterfall opposite the station is okay as well. If you are driving, the Navigation Pub on London Rd opposite the parking area is your best bet. Around the ground there's a Frankie & Bennie's, Harvester and the Pride Park but these tend to be very busy.

Mick’s prediction

It’s very cold at the moment with the temperature down as low as -10^oC in some parts of the country. I’ve not heard any weather reports from Hell but if it’s frozen over and Satan is taking a snow plough to work, we might win this.

That is a very large ‘if’ though.

Photo: Action Images

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