Ferdinand to partner Vidic in Spain

Rio Ferdinand is set to partner Nemanja Vidic in central defence for the first time this season as Manchester United look to get their Champions League campaign back on track against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium tomorrow.

Ferdinand’s two appearances since recovering from the knee injury that wrecked his World Cup have both been when Vidic has been rested.

But after watching his side concede nine goals in their past five Premier League games, Sir Alex Ferguson could not have chosen a better time to get his first-choice pairing back together. Wayne Rooney (ankle) is injured and Paul Scholes is rested.

Team (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Rafael, O’Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, Gibson, Park, Bebe, Berbatov, Owen, Hernandez, Macheda.