Manchester United and Zenit St Petersburg contest the Uefa Super Cup trophy in Monaco on Friday.
Manchester United and Zenit St Petersburg clash in Monaco
Manchester United and Zenit St Petersburg contest the Uefa Super Cup trophy at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on Friday evening.
United qualified for the tournament following their penalty shoot-out victory over Premier League rivals Chelsea in last season's UEFA Champions League final.
Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed to field a strong XI for the encounter as he looks to become the first coach to win the trophy three times, having previously triumphed with Aberdeen in 1983 and United in 1991 but failed in 1999.
And the Scot is predicting an exciting clash when the two clubs lock horns, telling
Uefa.com: "The Super Cup means no pressure on either team
"It's prestigious but provides a platform for the players to go out and enjoy themselves. Many people will make us favourites but that won't affect our preparations.
"Zenit's attacking play captured a lot of people's attention last season so hopefully it turns out to be a really exciting and attacking game, and I think it will be."
Glory
Dick Advocaat's Zenit, currently 19 games into their domestic campaign, secured their passage to the final after claiming Uefa Cup glory against Rangers in Manchester back in May.
Zenit are aiming to become the first Russian club to secure the Uefa Super Cup, but Advocaat is aware he faces one of the best managers in the business when he comes up against Ferguson.
The Dutchman, who joined Zenit in 2006, said: "I was asked recently if Mr Ferguson is the top in Europe; in my opinion he's the best in the world.
"If you can work for 22 years at a club like Manchester United with all the pressures that brings then you have to have exceptional quality, and Ferguson has that quality. I have lots of respect for him and his team."
Ferguson will be without Michael Carrick and star winger Cristiano Ronaldo (both ankle) while Owen Hargreaves has been forced to pull out with a knee injury, but Nani and captain Gary Neville return for the showdown.
For Zenit, Pavel Pogrebnyak is poised to start after overcoming a knee injury while record €30million (£24million) signing Danny should make his European debut, but defender Nicolas Lombaerts is unavailable (knee).
