Michael Owen could dream a dream against CSKA

Michael Owen's dreams do not concern scoring the winning goal for England in the World Cup final - and that's official. In fact Owen barely thinks about England at all, as his quotes about England that he made yesterday make clear.

"I don't go to bed thinking about if I will play for England again (please pick me Fabio, please, please, please!!), I think about playing well for United and the rest will take care of itself."

With Wayne Rooney likely to be on paternity leave and United mostly qualified, Owen could well get a start tonight and away from that rotten pitch in Moscow (how do you design a surface where a long ball stops on the first bounce and then kicks on after the second bounce without multiple twanging hamstrings as players chase, stop and chase again?) will probably get the chances to score goals. Owen may complain that his game is about more than goals - but although his link up play has improved over the years he is still a natural finisher and will always be measured in goals.

The main goal threat apart from Owen is likely to be Dimitar Berbatov, but he is carrying a knock and could be rested ahead of the Chelsea game - as is Danny Welbeck. This suggests that Federico Macheda may get his first game of the season outside the League Cup and he is surely desperate to force his way into the manager's senior plans as the fight for forward places intensifies.

ESTABLISHED FRONT TWO

Wayne Rooney 2009/10
Starts: 13
Subs appearances: 0
Goals: 8

Dimitar Berbatov 2009/10
Starts: 11
Subs appearances: 4
Goals: 4

CONTENDERS

Michael Owen 2009/10
Starts: 5
Subs appearances: 9
Goals: 3

Danny Welbeck 2009/10
Starts: 3
Subs appearances: 1
Goals: 2

Federico Macheda 2009/10
Starts: 2
Subs appearances: 0
Goals: 0

Tips:
10/11 Michael Owen to score (anytime)
7/4 Federico Macheda to score (anytime)
30/1 Michael Owen to score first in a 3-0 Man United win

(All odds courtesy of Bet365 which is offering £200 in free bets for new customers)