Ronaldo returns:
Fergie: "We left the decision to him and he came back to training on Monday, which we are very happy about," said Ferguson. "He is a young lad, so you don't know how he will react, but I think the sense of occasion will help him."
The Telegraph:
Manchester United again start without Roy Keane, who may be absent for up to a month with a hamstring injury.
Although Sir Alex Ferguson talked up Alan Smith's newly-found abilities as a holding midfielder, the Manchester United manager knows they are a very different proposition without their captain. In the past two years of Premiership football United average 1.5 points a game without him and 2.1 when he plays.
Ferguson yesterday stressed that playing Smith as a midfielder could no longer be counted as an experiment and remarked that Juan Riquelme and Diego Forlan would provide more of a test than the Manchester City attack did in Saturday's derby.
He had no explanation as to why Forlan, who after two hard-working but wretchedly unsuccessful years at Old Trafford, became La Liga's leading scorer in his first season with Spain's most improbable success story. Villarreal are the smallest town in Spain to play top-flight football and United, strangely, opted not to train at their El Madrigal Stadium, partly because of its remoteness and partly for fear of cutting up a newly-relaid pitch.Team details:
Villarreal: (probable 4-4-2) Vieira; Rodriguez, Arruabarrena, Kromkamp, Pena; Sorin, Alvarez, Riquelme, Josico; Figueroa, Forlan.
United: (probable 4-4-1-1) Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze; Fletcher, Smith, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney; Van Nistelrooy.
Referee: K Nielsen (Denmark).
Evening News:
United skipper Roy Keane will not travel to Spain for the Champions League clash with Villarreal.
Keane reported a slight hamstring strain in training and, with Sunday’s Premiership trip to Liverpool looming, Sir Alex Ferguson opted not to risk his veteran skipper for the Group B clash.
His absence means Alan Smith is almost certain to continue in central midfield as United look to open their European campaign with three points in what Ferguson believes will be the toughest fixture of a group which also includes Benfica and Lille.
Cristiano Ronaldo, however, is back in the squad.
Weather:
Sunny, a very nice 26°C at 3pm. Should be about 22°C when the match starts.