Manchester United are firmly in the box seat in this tie after beating AC Milan 3-2 in the San Siro. However, I don’t feel this tie is over as the Italians will be adventurous at Old Trafford after outplaying United for nearly an hour in the first leg. The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side scored three away goals gives them a massive advantage but I can still see United having to endure a nervy time in this one.

AC Milan need to produce something really special to go through but they have plenty of attacking quality in their ranks to shock a packed Old Trafford crowd. Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato is a major doubt but has travelled with the squad, Sir Alex will be hoping the 20-year-old is missing as he has the pace to hurt United at the back. Pato is also in a rich vein of form after scoring 4 goals in three games since the first leg defeat. If he doesn’t make it, AC still have the likes of Marco Borriello, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Filippo Inzaghi who can come in, so won’t be short of options.

Inzaghi is unlikely to start but the 36-year-old striker is the type of player who could come on, not touch the ball for 20 minutes but then pop up to score. The Italian has made a career out of it and did just that in the Champions League final in 2007 when he scored twice against Liverpool. Huntelaar’s stock has also risen in Italy in recent weeks after netting in three of his last five games for Milan as well as a goal last week for Holland. This could be a chance for the Dutchman to well and truly win over the Rossoneri fans.

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Milan Head Coach Leonardo was an ambitious player and I expect his team to be very attacking at Old Trafford as they need to be. There are plenty of talented players in the AC side although a number of them are in the latter stage of their illustrious careers. A lot of the media attention will be surrounding David Beckham’s return to Old Trafford but I don’t see Manchester United struggling to deal with him at all in open play. However, his ability from set-pieces will always be a threat. I would be surprised if David started the game as he has been on the bench for two of Milan’s last three games.

Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho will be more of a danger in Manchester. The Brazilian is far slimmer and fitter than he has been in recent seasons and will always pose a problem with his quality. However, alternatively his lack of work-rate defensively is an area United could exploit. Andrea Pirlo will look to control the tempo of the match from midfield and he is a great finder of a pass. Therefore, the likes of Darren Fletcher will have to be in his face whenever in possession as you can’t give a player of his quality too much time to get his head up and play.

There’s no doubt United can get at Milan defensively especially if Wayne Rooney is fit. The England man was impressive in the 2nd half at the San Siro and will cause any defence problems the way he is performing at the moment. Wayne will certainly fancy his chances against the Italians Brazilian goalkeeper Dida who always looks like he has a mistake in him. With Manchester United scoring three in the first leg, the emphasis is solely on Milan to get a result here as Sir Alex’s team can afford to lose 1-0 and still go through to the quarter-finals. For me, AC have enough quality and experience to cause United problems at Old Trafford so this should be an intriguing game.

Manchester United don’t need to win this match, so I’d expect them to be slightly cautious in their approach. They won’t want to leave any gaps for Milan to exploit. Now United have Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand back at the heart of their defence, Sir Alex will be confident his team can see this game out. I expect a few twitchy moments for the home side with so much at stake but with Milan pushing to get back in this tie, I am backing this leg to finish in a draw as I don’t expect the Italians to be beaten on the night.