Manchester United vs. Basel: Dimitar Berbatov Will Determine Red Devils' Fate

With Wayne Rooney out with a nagging hamstring, it's up to Dimitar Berbatov to step up and prove that he can fill the void.

After being kicked to the wayside due to an overflow of strikers on the team, Berbatov has an opportunity to showcase his skills and reassert himself as the talented scorer that he is.

The Red Devils are the most dominant team in the English Premier League. With Rooney on the field, they crushed their opponents and blasted their way to a 5-0-0 start to the season with a 17 goal differential.

He missed one game vs. Stoke City, and it resulted in a 1-1 draw. Nobody stepped up to fill the void left in the attack, something Berbatov needs to change if Manchester United is going to remain at the top of the standings with Rooney out.

Manchester United should demolish FC Basel, but they can't exactly expect to steamroll anyone until they get their offense back in sync.

The gameplan to this point has been to get Rooney the ball early and often and let him work his magic. Clearly, the Swiss Super League team has its faults, but if Alexander Frei gets going, things could get very interesting.

This match should be a blowout, and a draw would be a horrific result for Manchester United. Somebody has to take command, and with Berbatov finally seeing minutes, don't be surprised to see him rise to the occasion.

This is Berbatov's chance to prove that Manchester United needs to get him involved in the action more often. Obviously, Sir Alex Ferguson is having to utilize Berbatov earlier than he anticipated, but Rooney going down could be a blessing in disguise.

There is no such thing as having too many strikers, and knowing the Red Devils have a number of strikers they can rely upon should give them all the confidence in the world going forward.

Right now, it appears as though Manchester United may be a one-man show offensively, but Berbatov can put all of that to rest with a huge match against Basel.