Manchester United to Stick With Youth to Renew Their Wembley Bid

Sir Alex Ferguson is set to go with youngsters in the Carling Cup again tonight as they attempt to turn around a 1-0 deficit as they take on Derby County at Old Trafford this evening.

The likes of Rodrigo Possebon, Rafael Da Silva, and Darren Gibson are all set to start against Derby as Nigel Clough's men set about reaching a League Cup final for the first time in the club's history.

Chris Commons' strike was enough for the Rams in the first leg, and Ferguson admitted afterwards his side were lucky to come away with just a one goal deficit.

"We are lucky, we could have lost by more," Ferguson said.

"We were so bad and Derby will rue the fact they didn't score more."

Clough didn't endure the best start to his Derby career as he guided his side to a 2-0 home defeat to QPR, a result that threw cold water over the manager's emotional appointment.

The two managers have of course met before in 2006 as Clough's Burton side held United to a 0-0 draw before being thumped 5-0 in the replay at Old Trafford.

The Champions are set to name a similar side to that of previous rounds, with the likes of Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Dimitar Berbatov all set to miss out from the start.

Yet again, as Ferguson has tended to do in this season's cup competitions is blood some of his reserve players as the new wave of talented youngsters set to emerge off the Old Trafford production line.

The likes of Possebon, whose reputation among the fans is growing by the match, is sure to play a part as he continues to develop into a talented midfielder.

Derby are set to name a similar side that overcame United in the first leg, with Rob Hulse starting alone upfront.

Jordan Stewart will be available after a suspension, but Nathan Ellington is definitely out.

Even with United's hectic schedule they should be expected to go through tonight, even if Derby won't make it easy for them.

Derby will be keen to protect their lead for as long as possible, maybe even prolonging the game into extra time.

But with the attacking prowess United pose in the starting 11 alone, they should have too much for the strong they have several match winners, let alone on the bench.

Clough's got a tough job on his hands at Pride Park, but a trip to Wembley I'm sure would soften the blow for the fans at least. Here's his chance.