Manchester United v. Middlesbrough - Match Preview

However, hat-trick hero from midweek Wayne Rooney is unlikely to start the game due to fatigue and lack of match practice. That obviously didn't show on Wednesday!

Former assistant manager at Old Trafford Steve McClaren has got off to a decent start the the season, domestically and in Europe. The north-east club lay 11th in the league and recently beat Banik Ostrava to advance in the Uefa Cup.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Mark Viduka, Michael Reiziger and Ray Parlour are just some of the excellent acquisitions that McClaren has signed in the summer to bolster his squad.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side are unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions and have just found their feet in the league.

Middlesbrough have picked up 0 points from their past 2 league games following two 1-0 defeats to Chelsea and Everton respectively.

Wes Brown, who recently rejected a new contract offer, Louis Saha and Paul Scholes are the only certain absentees from the game for United. Rio Ferdinand is set to make 50th Premiership start for The Red Devils also.

Speaking in a pre-match interview, Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed: "Wes Brown has got a calf injury and so he will not play on Sunday, and neither will Paul Scholes. Saha is back training but he's not ready for a game. Hopefully he'll get a reserve game during the week"

Ferguson also admitted things are now looking up: "Hopefully we can push our way up the table. We've got to start getting positive results now. We've got the squad, the players and the ability to do it. The players are starting to relax and enjoy their football now"

ManUtdWeb Prediction: Manchester United 2 - 0 Middlesbrough: Momentum is on our side but it won't be a stroll in the park. Boro are disciplined and well organized. But I'm sure we can continue our recent winning ways.

MUTV Coverage:

Sunday 3rd October at 12midnight - MUTV is the only channel to watch the match in full! Repeated Monday 4th October at 10pm