Along with Keane and Vieira, Robert Pires and David Beckham are also expected to be back from injury and available. Alex Ferguson has indicated that Beckham will return to the starting line-up when fit (despite Solskjaer's excellent showing in his absence, as usual). Whether Pires is risked from the start is a trickier question. With Freddie back to form he's a must for the left wing, so Parlour and Wiltord will give him strong competition for the right side. Ray is a slight doubt with a hamstring problem, but Sylvain could well get the nod ahead of Bobby on the wing, with Dennis and Henry returning up front.

Although his place in the starting line-up would not be guaranteed anyway (especially if Pires is indeed in the squad), not having Parlour's grit available would be quite a blow. It's good to have the option of putting him alongside Vieira in games like these. Edu and Gilberto may have the edge in skill but an on-form Parlour is streets ahead when it comes to a battle. And Man Utd have done their best to make sure these games have been battles of late.

John O'Shea's knee and Ryan Giggs' hamstring are still likely to see them miss the game. There may be dounts over Wes Brown as well (also hamstring). But Fabien Barthez's stubbed toe is apparently not broken after all, so he should play.

Regardless of what Sky are trying to tell us, let's try to remember that this is not actually a title decider. There are a few games to go and if either side can win the rest of their games following this one, the chances are they'll win the title. Still, it's going to feel like a decider...