Ronny Johnson is expected to make his first league start for a month alongside Laurent Blanc in central defence. Wes Brown could play at right back (where Sven Goran Eriksson is thought to be considering playing him since Gary Neville's withdrawal from World Cup contention).

But everyone's talking about Veron, and all the more so since Alex F**kuson's typically measured comments the other day (read the full story). If this was an attempt to stop people talking about Veron's lack of form it seems to have blown up in Siralex's face somewhat.

Roy Keane's statements in today's press, that some Man Utd players just haven't given enough this season, have been interpreted as a thinly-veiled comment on the Argentine star (hard to see where that conclusion comes from, to be honest). Whereas Phil Neville has echoed Alex F**kuson's support for Veron.

Veron's performances have been decidedly mixed this season. But plenty of Arsenal's overseas players have taken a little while to adjust so in fairness one should wait till next season before judging him. And surely he'll be there still. Charlie Whelan's suspicion that Veron is angling for another big-money move is sheer scandal-mongering.

Whatever the truth of the matter, one gets the feeling that all this is being engineered to try to make sure that Veron's last 2 performances of the season are good ones. If he plays, that is.