Szabó urges 'no fear' against United

They may have lost their opening two matches in UEFA Champions League Group F and may be facing opponents who have won nine of their last ten games, but FC Dynamo Kyiv coach József Szabó has told his players they "cannot be scared" when Manchester United FC come calling on Tuesday.

'Game plan'
Appointed as Anatoliy Demyanenko's successor in September, Szabó knows the difference between success and failure in European football can be gossamer thin. "We can't simply talk about going out and beating United, that would be stupid," he said. "They consistently prove they're among the best teams in the world, and are coached by one of the best and longest-serving managers in the world. If my players stick to the game plan we can be successful against United; if not, they could punish every little error."

No nerves
Dynamo have won three out of four Ukrainian Premier League outings under their new boss, including Saturday's 1-0 home victory against FC Zakarpattya Uzhgorod which moved them to within seven points of the summit. They are also off the pace in Europe following losses to AS Roma – with Demyanenko in charge – and Sporting Clube de Portugal. "Players cannot be scared when they're on the pitch," Szabó said. "Being nervous is one thing and quite normal at the start of a big game, but we shouldn't be so scared of United that our knees knock together. We're at home and can show our full potential, even against them."

Vidić fit
Szabó is able to welcome back two key figures – centre-back Pape Diakhate and striker Ismaël Bangoura – although the one player in his squad with experience of English football, forward Serhiy Rebrov, remains sidelined. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Saturday's 4-1 triumph at Aston Villa FC as "probably our best performance of the season" and received another boost on Monday when Serbia centre-half Nemanja Vidić was cleared to play following concussion. Gerard Piqué is likely to make way.

'Best scenario'
The champions are playing second fiddle to Arsenal FC in the Premier League, but blazing a trail at the top of Group F with maximum points and seeking an early passage into the knockout rounds. "The best thing to do is to try and approach the game trying to win it because the rewards are great for us," Sir Alex said. "They will be wanting to win the match and I expect them to have a go. We see it as an opportunity because Roma and Sporting have a double-header. From our point of view we hope they take points off each other."

In-form partnership
The Wayne Rooney-Carlos Tévez partnership drew praise from both coaches. "I can't say how we're going to handle them as that's a secret," Szabó said. "What I can say is the days of the old Soviet style of football have gone and there'll be no man-marking." Sir Alex added: "They're exceptionally good footballers, are strong and a real threat to defenders. They have to be in consideration simply because their form is so good. We may go with three players in the middle, as we did in Lisbon. That is certainly a possibility."