In team news, The Telegraph asserts that Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will not be rested for this weekend’s fixture with Norwich City at Old Trafford, despite United’s huge clash with Real Madrid next week in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
This is due to the unfortunate injury to Robin van Persie last weekend. However, former United player Quinton Fortune believes United are every bit as capable of beating the Spanish champions without the Dutchman and league’s top scorer as they are with him.
"Robin will be a huge loss if he's not playing, but it's about the team," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
United may look to Javier Hernandez to step up to the plate and fill Van Persie’s shoes in his absence against Norwich.
Meanwhile young goalkeeper David De Gea has been voted Player of the Month for February after his performance against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, amongst others, earned him praise and plaudits all round.
Wayne Rooney has insisted United’s up-coming run of home fixtures at Old Trafford can be used to their advantage.
"The day before away matches, we travel down and stay in a hotel," explained Rooney.
"We prepare as normal for the game but, with home matches, we go to the hotel on the night before to have our dinner there and then stay over. We get up and prepare for the game but it's not much different in terms of preparation. However, having that home advantage is a great help to us. That's a real difference.”
Real Madrid and Spain captain Iker Casillas has warned United his side are ready for Old Trafford after comprehensively defeating Barcelona in their El Clasico clash in midweek in which they knocked Barca out and progressed to the final with a 3-1 win.
'We have to transfer this to the match against Manchester United. It is also 1-1 and we have to score and keep a clean sheet. That's the aim that we're going with,” said the World Cup winner.
In transfer news, speculation over the future plans of Borussia Dortmund striker and United ‘target’ Robert Lewandowski continues after the German champions’ director Michael Zorc publicly confirmed that the Polish forward will be leaving the club at the end of his contract if not sooner after he turned down the club’s final contract offer earlier this week.
"Either he goes in June or he stays another year," Zorc said. "We will have to see if he is going to be on the move in the summer."
Meanwhile, The Express claims that United will join Chelsea in the race to sign Schalke youngster Julian Draxler this summer.
The same source also asserts that Untied will do ‘battle’ with Barcelona in their quest to secure the services of Erik Lamela and Marquinhos at the end of the season.
Back at Old Trafford, Javier Hernandez dismissed suggestions that he is contemplating a departure, via his agent, Eduardo Hernandez insisted:
“Javier is thinking about his season in United. We are both not thinking about the market rumours,” he told ESPN Radio.
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