Berbatov to play at centre back?

We go into this week's game with the weight of knowing that there is an unsettling recent trend of the reigning champions going out of the Champions League in the last sixteen.

We also go in with the knowledge that we're going to have to shut up shop with a makeshift defence as Ferguson's gamble to get Evans back into the swing of games went badly wrong as his bad ankle has once again flared up. He has travelled to Italy but didn't take part in training yesterday. John O'Shea did take some part in light training but it is by no means a certainty that he will start the game this evening. The number of different possibilities Ferguson will be debating aren't breathtaking in their stature; a game for young Richard Eckersley isn't an impossible scenario if O'Shea fails to make it. Darren Fletcher may slot into right back as he has done in the past. One caller to MUTV last night brought up the fact that Berbatov played at centre-back for Bayer Leverkusen on occasion but I think it's a safe bet that he'll be up the other end of the park. I personally hope Sir Alex puts his faith in Fabio but his attacking style may be seen as too cavalier for a fixture of this magnitude.

The game itself is unpredictable. The footballing romantic in me says we should accept our defensive frailties and try to exploit Inter's by taking them on, all guns blazing. They are missing Walter Samuel and it appears Santon, the young full back, will play. They're going for a solid midfield, if Jose's team announcement is to be believed, by playing Muntari and Cambiasso. Adriano and Ibrahimovic are expected to lead the line.

However, the old head says that we'll go 4-5-1 and see Rooney pushed out to the left once more in Europe with Giggs, Scholes and Carrick under orders to keep the midfield very tight. There's also an argument to play Park for his tracking back, but I can't see where he fits in with the necessity to keep things tight. We may go for a four man midfield, in fact I hope we do, but I can really see Ferguson wanting to afford a great amount of protection to his makeshift back line.

I think the team will know that a draw would be an excellent result and an away goal is extremely desirable but avoiding a loss will hand advantage right back to us. We will also be looking to avoid any more niggling injuries with a cup final to play at the weekend and a couple of juicy league games in the pipeline.