Rio blow for United

Manchester United will be without England defender Rio Ferdinand when they aim to create history by beating Aston Villa in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.

Ferdinand is out after suffering a twinge in his back while Anderson (knee) is out for the season. Ryan Giggs (arm) is also out and Nani is suspended while Rafael is set to feature in his first major final.

United have never successfully defended a cup competition before but having overcome Tottenham on penalties last term, could put that statistic right by overcoming Martin O’Neill’s men.

Team (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster, Rafael, Neville, Brown, Evans, Vidic, De Laet, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Obertan, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Gibson, Park, Berbatov, Owen, Rooney, Diouf.