Rooney left on the bench

Wayne Rooney was left on the bench by Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United looked to cut Chelsea’s Premiership lead to 12 points by beating Fulham at Old Trafford.

Ferguson opted to pair Ruud van Nistelrooy and the in-form Louis Saha up front, with Alan Smith partnering Kieran Richardson in central midfield.

With Rio Ferdinand suspended, Mikael Silvestre was recalled at centre-half, with Nemanja Vidic making way.

The visitors, who are slowly climbing away from relegation trouble, handed a debut to former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown.

Man Utd v Fulham teams

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Brown, Silvestre, Evra, Ronaldo, Smith, Park, Richardson, Saha, van Nistelrooy.

Subs: Rooney, Vidic, Fletcher, Bardsley, Steele.

Fulham: Niemi, Rosenior, Knight, Bocanegra, Bridge, Malbranque, Elliott, Brown, Boa Morte, Helguson, McBride.

Subs: Radzinski, John, Goma, Warner, Niclas Jensen.

Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire)