Sir Alex Ferguson believes United have been handed the toughest of this season's Champions League quarter-final ties as they prepare to face Roma on Wednesday.
The Reds fly out to Italy on Tuesday morning ahead of their last eight clash at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Wednesday night's first leg clash will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides and Sir Alex admits his players will need to be on top form if they are to come away with a positive result.
"The tie requires two good performances, there's no question about that," he told Manchester United Radio. "We have a lot of respect for Roma. They beat Lyon, who I regarded as one of the favourites for the competition, in the last round and didn't lose a goal. That speaks volumes for their quality.
"We're not underestimating our task, it'll be a difficult one. It's probably the toughest quarter-final of all the ties."
The Reds face a Roma side featuring a host of experienced internationals, but Sir Alex has earmarked Francesco Totti as the player they'll need to a keep a particularly close eye on.
"Totti is the architect of everything they do and we have to decide how best to deal with him," insisted the Reds' manager. "Roma have a system which is difficult to play against - they don't have a central striker, instead they play with two wide players and flood the midfield.
"That means our two centre halves could be standing around doing nothing for most of the game. So it's a little bit of a tricky one but we have to resolve it as best we can."(www.manutd.com)
Louis Saha is ready to hand Manchester United a huge boost by making his return to action this week.
The Frenchman will be available for United's UEFA Champions League trip to Italy after overcoming his hamstring injury.
Saha has not played for a nearly a month, but he is now fully fit - although lacking in match fitness - and he insists he cannot wait to play again.
"I don't think I could be any fresher," he told The Mirror.
"I've missed quite a few games this year and I've so much pent-up energy that I want to get out of my system.
"I feel like I've got something to prove again. I'm raring to go. I'm confident and I want to be back playing and scoring goals.
"We're in a great position and if you look at what we have done in the past six months, it's amazing. Everyone is playing with confidence, we defend well and have been good going forward.
"But we can't say it is a job well done until we win the Premiership. If we don't, then the hard work is wasted. It will feel like six months for nothing. We have to get the trophy and finish the job."
Despite the fact Saha is available, Sir Alex Ferguson looks set to leave the former Fulham man behind when United travel to the Italian capital.
Instead of playing at the Stadio Olimpico, Saha instead looks set to play in a reserve team encounter at Blackburn on Thursday.
Should Saha turn out for United's second string, then he is likely to line-up alongside Darren Fletcher.
The Scottish international has made a quick recovery from the ankle injury he picked up in February.(www.skysports.com)
Totti: remember my name
Roma striker Francesco Totti has issued a warning to United ahead of Wednesday night's crunch Champions League quarter final first leg.
The 30-year-old marksman, who currently leads the scoring charts in Serie A, is miffed Sir Alex failed to name him as a threat after the quarter final draw was made in early March. Instead, the Reds' boss singled out Roma midfielders Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Mancini.
"Ferguson, you will learn who Totti is," the striker promised during an interview with Sky. "He will see personally. I hope to make him remember my name."
And even though he expects to be man-marked when the teams meet in Rome on Wednesday, Totti says it's a situation he's grown accustomed to.
"So they are going to put me in a cage? Opponents always make a cage for me. When I grow up I won't be a footballer but I will work at the zoo with all the cages people have made for me."
The centre-forward has scored 18 times in the league this season. He's also netted four times in this season's Champions League campaign, including one against Lyon in the last round.
"We are coming into the match in the right condition at the best possible moment," Totti said. "To have got to this point after so many years is a great achievement, but we don't want to stop here. There are even bigger satisfactions further on in the competition."(www.manutd.com)
