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Champions League: Scholes to guide Man Utd to Moscow date

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Dan "The Betting Man" Fitch wasn't impressed by Man Utd's rotation policy at the weekend but thinks the returns of Cristiano Ronaldo and in particular Paul Scholes should be decisive in seeing Man Utd through

Blimey, this competing on two fronts is a tricky thing to pull off. When you're in with a chance of winning the league and still in the latter stages of the Champions League, deciding when and where to rest players, is something of a conundrum.

Of course, in the olden days sides like Liverpool would win their domestic league and the old European Cup, by simply picking their best team for every game. But that was in the olden days, back when players would celebrate a victory with a dozen pints and midfield generals had moustaches. We now live in a more sophisticated age and it is unfeasible for the finely tuned footballer to play a game every three days or so.

Alex Ferguson shuffled his pack, to bring in fringe players like Fletcher, Silvestre and Nani into his starting line up against Chelsea. This was a questionable decision, especially when players like the rested Evra, still had plenty of energy after the game to have a punch up with some stewards.

I was very surprised that Ferguson elected to go into such an important game missing players such as Ronaldo and it just goes to show how importantly they're taking their semi final against Barcelona on Tuesday night. The Catalan giants have had the good fortune to have already ballsed up their league campaign and were able to put out a severely weakened side in their weekend match against Deportivo.

Deportivo took full advantage against the second string, to win 2-0. Although the La Liga title was still mathematically within Barcelona's grasp, Rijkaard effectively admitted defeat by leaving out Eto'o, Messi, Xavi, Deco, Valdes and Abidal from a side that already had Iniesta and Milito suspended and Rolandinho 'injured'. Well, if your definition of 'injured' includes being overweight and lazy, then Ronaldinho definitely falls into this category. Expect him to miraculously be back to full fitness though, if Barcelona progress to the final.

It will be interesting to see how Barcelona approach the Old Trafford tie. Despite the quotes coming out of the Nou Camp, a 0-0 draw at home isn't a good result. The question now is how they will approach getting an away draw. Will they sit back, hope to contain United and grab one on the break? Or will they go all out for a win?

I don't think Barcelona would be able to mop up United's pressure, so their best form of defence will be attack. In the home leg Barcelona employed Iniesta in an advanced role, as part of their striking triumvirate. If Rijkaard really decides to go for it, he may play Iniesta in a deeper midfield role and select either Bojan or Henry alongside Messi and Eto'o.

In the case of United, the questions are all about how they will bounce back from the disappointment of their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea. The defeat to their nouveau riche rivals, was the second setback in a week, following Ronaldo's penalty miss. I really think that if United had taken that first minute lead, they would have gone on to effectively sew up this tie.

I doubt that Fergie will be using Rooney out on the flank again this match, having played Ronaldo centrally at the Nou Camp. This decision was a defensive, rather than an offensive one, with Ferguson clearly believing Rooney to be more capable in tracking back and retaining positional discipline than Ronaldo.

There is no time for such caution now and I believe that United will really go for it. But for all the talents of Rooney and Ronaldo, it is still the unassuming Paul Scholes that may prove to be the difference between the two sides. With both sides boasting packed midfields, the exceptional short passing game of Scholes will be vital in keeping possession and he still has the guile to split a defence, even if the goals have now gone from his game.

I'm backing United to progress and with the score draw ruled out in this eventuality, then the [2.04] in 90 minutes, makes more sense than the [1.77] for United in the 'to qualify' market. Barca are [2.26] to qualify and [4.4] in normal time, with the draw [3.35].