United have managed to get to this stage of the competition with a blend of youth and experience, which has seen them get past the likes of old rivals Leeds United and avoid a potential banana skin against Aldershot Town.

Paul Pogba and Ezekiel Fryers played in both Carling Cup games this term, having impressed in the academy at Old Trafford.

The youngsters have been guided through the tricky games by veterans Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov (7/2 first goalscorer), who have also performed well in the competition as they hope to impress Ferguson enough to secure more regular Premier League action.

Another promising name coming through the ranks with the Red Devils is 18-year-old midfielder Ravel Morrison, who was named on the bench for United’s Champions League encounter with Benfica last week.

The playmaker looks to have a bright future ahead of him, after helping United to the FA Youth Cup last term and now the player has a chance to impress at the Theatre of Dreams.

Having avoided an upset against the Shots, it will be Palace’s turn to try and overturn a side who have looked a little uneasy in recent outings.

A draw against Benfica and then a point earned in controversial circumstances with Newcastle United at the weekend added up to a frustrating week for the Premier League champions.

However Palace have not been in the best form of their own, having failed to score in their last three outings.

The Championship side though have proven to be a tough side to break down under manager Dougie Freedman and have done better than expected in the second tier of English football this term.

But with just one win in their last five games, they will have to make some serious improvements, especially in the attacking end of the field, if they want to cause United any problems.

Palace have not won at Old Trafford since 1989 but against what is set to be a relatively inexperienced United side, they should have one of their best chances to cause an upset.

Darren Ambrose (14/1 first goalscorer) is set to return to the starting XI which will be a big boost for the London outfit, in what must look like a mammoth test.

Palace have nothing to lose and will be determined to take their chances if some of the United youngsters freeze on what will be a big night for them.

However, with one or two veterans in the side such as Giggs (5/2 to score anytime), they should be able to guide these promising players through to the Carling Cup semi-finals without too much trouble.

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Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have had an interesting week with Wayne Rooney’s ban for swearing at West Ham dampening the mood after their 1-0 first-leg victory at Stamford Bridge.

Rooney’s absence boosts Fulham’s chances of getting a result at Old Trafford, a ground where the Cottagers last won in 2003, as does the return of Bobby Zamora.

The striker grabbed a brace on his first Premier League start since August against Blackpool last week and ought to be backed to score again, anytime at 9/4.

Bet: Zamora anytime goalscorer (9/4)

Chelsea, still smarting from Wednesday’s controversial defeat, entertain Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge and can be backed with confidence to win with a clean sheet.

The Latics are the Premier League’s lowest scorers this season and their recent record boasts two goals from the last five matches, four of which have seen them draw a blank.

With Fernando Torres out of form, Carlo Ancelotti may turn to Nicolas Anelka or Salomon Kalou for the goals and they should run out comfortable winners by 3-0 (7/1) or 4-0 (9/1).

Bet: Chelsea 3-0 & 4-0 (7/1) & (9/1)

Wolves are in dire need of a lift too after taking a 4-1 hammering at Newcastle last week and losing their Republic of Ireland stars Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt to injury.

Mick McCarthy’s side host Everton in the early kick-off with the visitors having the incentive of closing the gap to rivals Liverpool to just a point if they can win at Molineux.

However, a draw (11/5) looks a more likely result – an outcome that has happened in each of the three Premier League matches since Wolves were promoted back to the top flight (1-1, 0-0 and 1-1).

Bet: Draw (11/5)

Blackburn against Birmingham could be the ugliest match of the season, let alone the weekend, with so much at stake in terms of the relegation picture and momentum.

Rovers’ form has been woeful in the last two months and Steve Kean is under pressure after eight matches without a win, but this will be no easy task against a Blues side scrapping for their lives.

A check of the result results has revealed that ‘Both Teams to Score’ could be a profitable way to bet this weekend with both teams having scored in the last six Birmingham matches and in four of the last six involving Blackburn.

Bet: Both teams to score (10/11)

West Ham must be one of the most consistently infuriating teams to bet on and that will be the only time that Avram Grant’s side have been termed consistent this season.

The manner of their capitulation from 2-0 to 4-2 down in the last quarter of their home match with Manchester United suggests that they remain mentally fragile – and they look vulnerable away to Bolton this weekend.

The Trotters will battle for a win in this match, but may have to settle for a second-half winner – as the vast majority of their goals have come in the second period.

Bet: Draw HT/Bolton FT in Double Result (7/2)

Only two points seperate Sunderland and West Brom after last week’s results and the two sides meet on Wearside this weekend in no doubt as to which club has the momentum.

The Baggies’ win over Liverpool was thoroughly deserved – as was Sunderland’s 5-0 thumping at Manchester City.

West Brom have not last since Roy Hodgson was brought in to save them from the drop, but this could be a tough test with Sunderland likely to be fired up by Steve Bruce. The value is for a Sunderland home win.

Bet: Sunderland win (6/5)

Finally, Tottenham come back to earth after their trip to the Bernabeu in midweek and need to collect three points at home to Stoke City.

Tony Pulis’ men could be forgiven for having one eye on their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley next weekend, but if they do, they are surely going to be punished.

Gareth Bale is back and, if Aaron Lennon declares himself fit to play, Stoke’s full-backs will be in for a tough time.

Bet: Spurs HT/Spurs FT in Double Result (13/8).

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Sir Alex Ferguson

Bulgarian hitman Berbatov, who is now 7/2 joint favourite to finish top Premier League Goalscorer, was the star of the show as he ended a run of 10 matches without a goal by smashing five past a hapless Rovers outfit.

And, while Ferguson was delighted with his goals glut, he felt Rooney’s overall game played a huge part in the impressive win.

“Berbatov and Rooney were a good combination today – they interchanged brilliantly today. Wayne was fantastic,” said Ferguson.

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce apologised to the travelling fans who witnessed the mauling, although he is not too worried about his side’s long-term prospects (Rovers 10/1 Relegation) given that he had a host of regulars absent, while he also felt United were on top of their game.

Allardyce said: “We had seven first-team players missing from the start. However, I did expect more from the players who did start.

“Unfortunately we caught United at their best. At half time we were 3-0 down and I told the players to protect that scoreline but they’d lost it by then.”

Arsenal, who are 19/5 to win the Premier League, maintained their title aspirations having briefly taken over top spot earlier on Saturday thanks to an impressive 4-2 win at Aston Villa.

And boss Arsene Wenger felt his side showed great character to bounce back from defeats to Tottenham and at Braga in midweek, and then stave off a Villa comeback after the home side had reduced the two-goal deficit to 2-1 and 3-2 during the second half at Villa Park.

“At 2-0, at half-time, you could feel what happened [against Tottenham] had an impact in their head,” said Wenger.

“We could have crumbled or we could score again – and we did the latter. We got a good mental response.”

Villa manager Gerard Houllier, whose team is 9/2 for a Top Six Premier League finish, blamed his side’s poor first half showing for the defeat against the Gunners.

“We were poor in the first half. Whether it was because we showed them too much respect, or lacked experience, I don’t know,” said the Frenchman.

“We never got started. We were a different team in the second half, showed more energy and took more risks.”

Meanwhile, West Ham boss Avram Grant is confident that he can guide his side into a mid-table finish (21/20 To Stay Up) following their 3-1 win against fellow strugglers Wigan in the ‘Save Our Season’ billed game at Upton Park.

Valon Behrami, Victor Obinna and Scott Parker were on target for the Hammers and, despite Grant’s men staying bottom and three points adrift of safety, the Israeli is backing himself to steer the Londoners to safety.

He said: “We are only nine points from the middle. That’s (a gap) you can close with more than 20 games to go.

“We have played only 15 games, so at the moment it does not really matter if Wolves win or the others do – we need to do our job.”

Meanwhile, Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was disappointed with the manner of the goals his side conceded in a crucial game against the Hammers which has left them in trouble in third-bottom spot and 8/11 for Relegation.

He said: “It was a day of a real test of character, and that was there, but in football you cannot concede cheap goals, otherwise you are making things very difficult.

“We just weren’t ourselves, and that is where the work is going to be.”

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A bewildered Ferguson has revealed it is a hamstring problem that has affected the midfield star this time, rather than a recurrence of the long-standing knee injury that has sidelined him for the best part of two years.

“We thought by doing that it would give us a compact midfield with experience. But he only lasted five minutes. It was a disaster,” revealed the Old Trafford chief. “He has hurt his hamstring, which is unbelievable.”

United left it late yesterday, with Ji-Sung Park scoring the winner in stoppage time, as they keep the pressure on league-leaders Chelsea, who visit Liverpool on Sunday.

The shock result of the day perhaps came at the Reebok Stadium as Bolton Wanderers secured an impressive 4-2 victory over Tottenham.

Spurs went into the game on the back of a famous European victory over Champions League holders Inter Milan but they struggled to cope with a compact and determined Bolton side.

Kevin Davies opened the scoring for the hosts, before Gretar Steinsson and a Davies penalty appeared to put the Wanderers out of sight.  Spurs did hit back through Alan Hutton and Roman Pavlyuchenko to set Bolton’s nerves jangling but Martin Petrov added a fourth to ensure the home side secured all three points.

Wanderers boss Owen Coyle was understandably delighted with the result and believes Bolton are heading in the “right direction.”

“I like to think we are improving. Hopefully we are moving in the right direction. It is very much a work in progress,” Coyle said.

“The players are showing a lot of quality, and I thought it was an outstanding performance today.”

Bolton have been beaten just twice this season and look a strong and well organised unit, with players such as Chung-Yong Lee, Stuart Holden and Petrov providing pace and skill.  The Wanderers are a very attractive 20/1 to secure a top-six finish, they are currently fifth in the league, and although very much an outside bet it is not out of the question that Coyle could lead them into Europe this season.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp turned his attentions to Gareth Bale and defended the midfielder’s performance against Bolton.  The Welsh wizard produced some glimpses of magic at the Reebok but failed to make the same impact he did against Inter Milan in midweek.

Bale is without question one of Spurs’ best players but Redknapp is eager to ensure the youngster is not put under too much pressure after he praised the youngster despite the defeat at Bolton.

“There was nothing wrong with Gareth today. He was probably my best player,” said Redknapp.

“He had some fantastic runs and crossed a couple of great balls. If people had got on the end of them he could have made two or three goals.”

Spurs are pushing for fourth spot but could fall further behind the pack if Manchester City end their losing streak and secure a victory at West Brom (Match Betting – West Brom 9/4, draw 12/5, City 23/20).

However, with players such as Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart and Bale amongst their ranks it would be foolish to count Spurs out at this stage (Spurs 3/1 to finish in the top four).

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Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United maintained their challenge near the top of the table with a 2-1 victory at Stoke on Saturday and they are one of three teams currently on 17 points – five behind high-flying Chelsea at the summit.

Tottenham occupy fifth spot with 15 points and, while not mentioning the teams by name, it appears that the United boss believes the current top five will be involved in the title race when the business end of the season approaches.

The Wayne Rooney saga has now been cleared up and Ferguson is looking forward to stringing a run of decent results together after coming through a difficult patch, which has seen then club held to four draws away from home already this term, with just one win on their travels.

The boss feels that, despite Chelsea’s superb start to the campaign, there is plenty of time for one of the chasing pack to make a move and throw a spanner in the works as the season progresses, with United having already visited some of the toughest grounds in the top flight.

“I wouldn’t be betting against it being a five-horse race,” he told US radio station Sirius XM. “I think there is a lot of twists and turns in the race.

“The result at Stoke has had a galvanising effect on the club but we have to motor on now.”

Fergie added: “At the moment Chelsea have done very little wrong but if you look at our programme, we have had a much harder programme than the rest.

“We’ve been to Everton, Sunderland, Stoke, Bolton – all these difficult places where nobody enjoys going, but we’ve got them out of the road now.”

United take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night with Ferguson expected to field a virtual second-string side against Mick McCarthy’s men (Man Utd 2/7, Draw 4/1, Wolves 11/1 – Match Betting).

Michael Owen should get a run-out while Javier Hernandez will probably be rested, with Spurs set to visit Old Trafford on Saturday in a mouth-watering clash of two attack-minded teams.

With Liverpool out of the title reckoning, the north Londoners are part of Fergie’s ‘big five’ contenders and victory over Harry Redknapp’s talented outfit would further boost the confidence of a club still coming to terms with the negative publicity surrounding Rooney’s contract negotiations and put down a marker for the rest of the season.

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Manchester United

“I wasn’t surprised at all that Liverpool changed their manager in the summer. I think everyone expected it even though Benitez had signed a new contract,” Ferguson told The People

He added: “That was the only complication about it. If he hadn’t signed a contract the previous season then I am sure he would have gone before the end of the last season.”

Benitez signed a new five-year contract at Liverpool back in June of last year but his contract was terminated by mutual consent earlier in the summer and he left to take up the reins at Inter Milan in June of this year.

New Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson will welcome back captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres, after the players were rested for the Europa League win over Steaua Bucharest in midweek, for the game at Old Trafford, while Joe Cole is able to return after serving his three-match ban for his red card picked up against Arsenal on the opening weekend.

Hodgson, who has seen his Liverpool side register just five points from four games in their opening fixtures of their current campaign, said ahead of the clash: “The first thing to do when you go to Old Trafford is to defend well because there are some very good attackers.

“They are very dangerous offensively so if your defensive set-up is wanting then they will punish you.”

United, who already trail title rivals Chelsea by four points, are likely to welcome back Rio Ferdinand for his first Premier League start of the season, with in-from Dimitar Berbatov partnering England striker Wayne Rooney (4/1 to score first goal) up front, but will be without Anderson, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves as well as Antonio Valencia, who suffered a horrific injury in the draw with Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed though that Nemanja Vidic will get the captain’s armband back, despite Ferdinand skippering the side in midweek, and will be keeping it for the rest of the season.

“He started the campaign as captain and it will stay that way,” Ferguson said. “What we wanted was someone who was consistently available for us.

“Everyone recognises Nemanja Vidic would always be there. He has been fit all season and you don’t leave him out of the team unless you are going to rest him.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson

The 31-year-old picked up the problem while on international duty with the Three Lions at the World Cup.

The injury ruled the former West Ham and Leeds centre-half out of the entire tournament, just weeks after he had returned to full fitness after a domestic season plagued by injury.

Ferdinand made just 21 appearances for United in all competitions last season as he was dogged by a persistent back problem.

Ferdinand’s injuries compounded a difficult season for Ferguson as he lost a number of his top defenders to injury, being forced to play the likes of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in his back four at times.

The centre-back was expected to be fit for the start of the new season but his return date has now been put back until the end of September as he struggles to get fit.

Ferguson says he isn’t worried about the amount of time Ferdinand has spent on the sidelines and believes his recovery is on course.

“We are still thinking the end of September for Rio,” said the United boss.

“It was a medial ligament problem rather than a cruciate, so the recovery time is exactly what we thought.

“It was a freak. It is nothing to do with his back. We just had to treat it the proper way. These things are never easy.”

The latest update on Ferdinand’s fitness means he will miss England’s first two Euro 2012 qualifiers in September as Fabio Capello’s men face Bulgaria (8/1 to win Group G) and Switzerland (5/1).

The injury also means that United will be without their defensive stalwart for the big game against Liverpool on September 19.

While United fans remain concerned about Ferdinand’s fitness Ferguson has moved to ease their fears over a number of other players, including midfielder Anderson.

The Brazilian has returned to training this week after a knee injury and the United boss hopes he could be back in first team contention after September’s international break.

Left-back Patrice Evra has also been given a clean bill ahead of Sunday’s game with Fulham (4/1 to beat United), the France international having fully recovered from a nasty collision with the advertising hoardings during Monday’s 3-0 win over Newcastle.

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Manchester United

The so-called big four of United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have dominated proceedings for a long time but that was shattered last season when Tottenham broke into the Champions League places at the expense of Liverpool.

This season will be even more competitive as Manchester City have been spending like it is going out of fashion and anything other than a top four finish will be deemed a failure.

It means everyone is fighting for their lives and even though United are nailed on at 1/20 to finish in the Champions League, it looks like it will be tight and they may find themselves looking over their shoulders now and then.

Ferguson admits it will be tougher than ever following the emergence of City, who are 11/2 to win the title, while Everton and Aston Villa are also clubs who will be pushing all the way.

Gone are the times when a team only lost a maximum of four games when winning the title and Ferguson is well aware that no game is easy these days.

“Things definitely changed last season – it was a different league altogether compared to what we’d seen before,” said Ferguson. “The top four found it difficult and dropped points in games they wouldn’t have expected to.

“That’s an indication of the improvement made by other teams, and I think there’ll be a bit of a dogfight for the top four places this season.

“We all have to be aware of the threats from the likes of Villa, Everton, Tottenham and Manchester City – they’ll all be challenging to get into that top four.”

Chelsea are 13/8 favourites for the title but United showed at the weekend even without the addition of any new players they are the team that will run Carlo Ancelotti’s men all the way.

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The former Everton forward was a shadow of the player who terrorised defences for United in the Premier League last season, failing to hit the net once.

While there are many reasons for England’s failure in South Africa, some are pointing to Rooney’s poor performances as a key aspect as to why their quest to regain the World Cup ended in disappointment.

England were dumped out of the tournament by Germany (2/1 outright World Cup winners) in the second round as they failed to show the kind of form which had earned them so many plaudits during qualification.

Ferguson says he was not too surprised by England’s failure to bring the World Cup home but admits he thought they might perform a little better.

However, he is refusing to criticise Rooney’s performances, claiming that too many people expected too much from the 24-year-old.

Ferguson explained: “I think there was such expectation on him. There was talk he was going to be the player of the tournament.

“Don’t forget, that was the prelude to the whole thing – he was going to be the star, he was going to outshine them all – (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo. So that level of expectation comes into it.

“And he’s not got great experience of [playing in] the World Cup really. You wait, in four years’ time you’ll see a different player.”

Ferguson went on to back Rooney to shine in the next World Cup in 2014 and believes England fans will see the best of the striker in a white shirt soon enough.

The United boss also went on to give his backing to the German football structure, claiming the mid-winter break in the Bundesliga looked as though it had benefitted the Germany (7/4 to beat Spain in the semi-final) side.

He believes the England set-up could learn a lot from their European counterparts and claims the mental state of the Germany squad plays a huge part in why they always seem to do so well at major tournaments.

“The history they’ve got (in Germany) is quite incredible.” he added.

“That organised mentality they have, the belief in themselves, it carries them a long way.

“Plus the fact they get a month’s rest in January – it must help. All the England team are playing in (the Premier League) so they’re all affected [by the lack of a winter break].”

Despite praising the Germans Ferguson went on to tip their arch-rivals Holland to win the World Cup overall.

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The mounting debt accumulated by the Glazer family who own the club has caused unrest amongst fans at Old Trafford, with worries over how much the manager will have to spend in the next transfer window being a major concern.

However, Gill has reiterated the fact that Ferguson will have significant money to spend in the summer to help the side regain the Premier League title from Chelsea (Chelsea 13/8 to win the Premier League outright) and to push on in Europe.

He said: “The money is definitely there. The results for the quarter ending 31 March will show the figures are about £95million cash.

“We are not in a situation whereby Alex is restricted in what he wants to do with the club and his modus operandi as a manager. We have never said: ‘You can’t do that, we have to pay interest (on the debt),” he added.

Ferguson has recently stated that he feels the transfer market has been distorted by clubs such as Real Madrid and United’s local rival Manchester City who are paying huge sums of money for players.

Fans are concerned that money from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real last summer was not put back in to making signings on the pitch.

Despite worries over the amount the United boss has to spend at Old Trafford, Ferguson has already added to the squad with the signing of promising English centre-back Chris Smalling from Fulham and Mexico international Javier Hernandez.

A number of players have been linked with the Red Devils this summer with Joe Cole, who is soon out of contract at Chelsea, and Aston Villa midfielder James Milner being speculated as possible additions to the squad.

The ‘green and gold’ campaign by United fans shows the unrest amongst supporters of the team who are against the Glazer families running of the club, and the transfer budget and debt are some of the key issues.

Gill believes the campaign will fade with the team on the pitch being successful.

He said: “The green and gold campaign and the momentum behind that can get a bit tiring.

“Would we prefer not to have them [green and gold scarves]? Yes. They have a right to protest. A lot of the fans clearly care about the club and that is a strength.”

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