Birmingham v Manchester United, Kick-off 7.45Alex Ferguson has admitted he is in the dark over Birmingham's likely line-up for tonight's Premiership encounter at St Andrews.
Old Trafford old-boy Steve Bruce has made six new signings during the transfer window as he attempts to stave off a quick return to the Nationwide League. The initial impact has not been too successful, with Birmingham crumbling to a 4-2 defeat at Bolton on Saturday and having won their last five Premiership matches, United will start overwhelming favourites as they bid to cut Arsenal's lead to three points.
But Ferguson is convinced Bruce will feel the benefit of the extra bodies and can eventually scramble to safety.
"With so many new players, we will have to play a bit of a guessing game about what team he will pick," said the United boss. "But by bringing in so many new faces, Steve now knows he has a squad which can cope with any injuries he might get in the last few weeks. It is bound to help him and I think they will just about manage to survive."
Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was the major casualty of United's win at Southampton on Saturday and he has been ruled out after suffering hip and thigh muscle injuries in the clash with Michael Svensson which saw the Frenchman carried off.
Ferguson is hoping Barthez will be fit to face Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, but his absence tonight is likely to offer Northern Ireland international Roy Carroll another chance to shine.
With no room for error, there are unlikely to be too many changes, although Paul Scholes may find himself restored to the starting line-up as Ferguson's men look to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games.
Ironically, the current successful streak began with a 2-0 post-Christmas home win against Birmingham, when Diego Forlan and David Beckham scored either side of the interval.
Though United eventually cruised home, Ferguson was quick to acknowledge that Birmingham had been hampered by the type of injury crisis Bruce's recent spending spree is designed to overcome.
"It was a difficult day for them," he said. "They ended up with Geoff Horsfield at centre-half, so I'm sure they will have a much stronger team against us."
It is almost 25 years since United last suffered defeat at the hands of Birmingham - a 5-1 hammering at St Andrews. A repeat of the scoreline is almost impossible to envisage, particularly as, with his usual impeccable timing, Ferguson has got his side in top form as they approach the most crucial six weeks of their campaign.
However, the Scot has already identified the biggest threat to his team tonight in the form of French international Christophe Dugarry, whose physical approach has come as a shock.
"I'd never really noticed that he was a physical player because France don't play their football that way," said Ferguson.
"But I watched him on his debut at Blackburn and physically, he certainly handled himself well. A few of the Blackburn players must have been thinking 'hang on, we were supposed to kick him and he's kicking us'."
Dugarry has been declared fit after being substituted at the Reebok Stadium with a hamstring strain. But midfielder Aliou Cisse is sidelined with a calf problem and Bruce has to decide whether to keep faith with goalkeeper Ian Bennett - at fault with two of the goals on Saturday - or recall Nico Vaesen.
