The Eight Bitters Of Moscow!

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that he had a selection problem on his hands with all the players of his squad fit and ready to play in the Champions League final.

As even Louis Saha made a surprising recovery, the boss had a pool of 26 players to choose from ahead of the title decider at Wigan and faces the same situation as Moscow looms.

'I think picking the team will be easier than picking the substitutes.

'I'm going to have to leave some fantastic players out of the squad completely next week, which I won't enjoy doing.

'It's got to be done and I don't know when I'm going to pick that moment.

'I'm going to have to speak to them. It's not something I'm looking forward to.

'But, on the other hand, it's a fantastic position for us to be in, having 26 fit players.'

Well, who will be those who miss out on the greatest showpiece of their careers? I expect a starting line-up something like this:
Van der Sar - Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra - Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick - Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo

The bench, in my opinion, will be occupied by Kuszczak, Anderson, Saha, Nani, Giggs, O'Shea, Fletcher.

It is possible that Park will get the nod instead of either Fletcher or Nani - as things stand, the most cruel thing would be to leave him out as he made a big contribution in getting us to Moscow.

Gary Neville should not be on the bench but he already played in a Champions League final, one we won, therefore it will be easier for him. Pique will have plenty of chances in the future to play in one I think but he will be devastated - though it won't be an unexpected blow for him.

Mikael Silvestre, though, might feel he is very, very unlucky. He's 31 this year and another chance to play in Europe's showpiece even is unlikely to come along - but he's got a chance to feature this time: at the expense of O'Shea who would feel equally devastated and who is a more versatile player so is a better option to have on the bench.

Obviously Fergie will defy my selection with his own which will be totally different, you bet!