Ferguson unlikely to bring Beckham back for derby clash
The impressive Irish defender limped out of the midweek draw with title rivals Arsenal after suffering a recurrence of his knee injury and is also a major doubt for Wednesday's Champions League showdown with Real Madrid at Old Trafford.
Gary Neville should return at right-back, with Wes Brown switching back into central defence.
With Juan Sebastian Veron still absent, Alex Ferguson's only other poser is whether to bring back England skipper David Beckham, a move which appears unlikely given Solskjaer's recent impressive form on the right-hand side of midfield.
Ferguson was quick to dismiss any suggestion today's game will be a walkover for his team.
Blackburn have already beaten United once in the league this season and gained a creditable Worthington Cup draw on their last visit to Old Trafford in January.
They are also on the brink of landing a UEFA Cup spot after winning six of their last seven league games, a run of form even United cannot match.
"This game is bigger than the Arsenal one now because we are approaching the winning post and if we want to get past it, we have to beat Blackburn," said Ferguson.
"They are one of the best teams in the league at the moment. They are an attacking side playing very well and Graeme Souness knows exactly what he is looking for.
"There is no doubt they will come and have a real go at us."
David Dunn reckons Manchester United are football's equivalent of snooker's Steve Davis so good that everyone wants them to lose.
The Blackburn midfielder believes history will look back on Alex Ferguson's side in a kinder light but that for now they are the one team everyone wants to beat.
Talking of snooker, Rovers will pocket a double if they beat United, having already beaten them at Ewood Park. The result will also have a crucial effect on where the Premiership trophy ends up this season.
Dunn said: "Everyone in this country loves to beat the winners. No-one used to like Steve Davis when he used to beat everyone at snooker but when he came out of the game everyone said what a great character he was. I think that's the same with United.
"We have a good run of form going so we are pretty confident we can go there and get a result. It's a massive game for us as we have a real chance of qualifying for Europe.
"Our form is excellent against the bigger clubs and if it was a bit better against the lesser clubs I think we would be up there challenging ourselves."
Rovers have won six out of their last seven games, coinciding with Dunn's return from a hamstring injury and Hakan Sukur's emergence as a first-choice striker alongside Andy Cole.
Dunn added: "Hakan has been excellent, against Fulham last week in particular he was terrific and scored two good goals so let's hope he can carry on that form. It also means that there is good competition for places with the other strikers."
Blackburn manager Graeme Souness believes his players have nothing to fear and are certainly not intimidated by the prospect of going to Old Trafford.
Souness said: "We have a monster game against Manchester United. These are the sort of games that if you have anything about you, you look forward to them.
"It's a special place, a wonderful atmosphere and given the circumstances it could be a fantastic game because we are going to go there to try and win it. We may get drubbed 5-0 but we will have lost having had a go.
"They played very well against Newcastle and against Arsenal were excellent in the first half, but we are playing well too and I don't think we have anything to fear. We should be full of confidence.
"I think it's a wonderful arena to play football in, but I don't get intimidated so I wouldn't use the word intimidating about Old Trafford. I have big-game players and I would hope they are looking forward to the game as much as I am."
Meanwhile, Souness has told Henning Berg he will have to "wait and see" after the defender had a last-minute change of heart about returning to Norway at the end of the season and asked to stay another year.
Souness has told Berg that he has already put out feelers for several possible replacements, including Frank de Boer, and with one player in particular has made progress towards signing him.
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