Manchester United can seal qualification for the knockout stages with two games to spare should they pick up three points against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

After hard fought wins in Russia and Turkey, Sir Alex Ferguson's menwill have to be wary of complacency when they take on the Russian side they defeated at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow a fortnight ago.

United are sitting pretty at the top of Group B with a 100 per cent record, but will have to be at their best against a CSKA side who matched them for over 80 minutes in Moscow, before Antonio Valencia struck late on to secure victory for the English champions.

The Red Devils are unbeaten at home in the competition since February 2005, however Sir Alex could put this record at risk by resting sevearl key players ahead of Sunday's top-of-the-table clash against Chelsea.

United were woefully poor in their 2-0 defeat at Anfield, but have bounced back since with a Carling Cup victory over Barnsley and a routine 2-0 win over Blackburn at the weekend.

The Russian side have dismissed former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos since their last encounter and new coach Leonid Slutsky will take charge for just his second match.

The Army Men still have a chance of qualification and remain one point behind VfL Wolfsburg, who occupy the last remaining qualification spot.

With three games left in the Russian league, CSKA are battling to grab a European spot next season, but could finish as low as sixth if they fail to pick their form up.

United transfer target and CSKA No.1 Igor Akinfeev has revealed to uefa.com that his side have taken inspiration from Rubin Kazan's shock 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou two weeks ago.

"Their victory was very important for Russian football. Rubin Kazan showed their ability and managed to play like a top-class team in that match," said Akinfeev.

"It's a great development for Russian football. It's a great leap forward. Every time a club or the national team does something like that, it's significant."

Team News:

Manchester United head into the game with a host of injury concerns, while Wayne Rooney may miss out following the birth of his first child on Monday.

The home side are without their regular defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, while veteran Ryan Giggs has also been ruled out.

Dimitar Berbatov is a doubt after his magnificent performance against Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn at the weekend, while Park Ji-sung will also miss out.

Gary Neville returns from suspension, while Ferguson has confirmed Darren Fletcher will start after a spell on the sidelines through injury.

CSKA are without three first team regulars heading into the game after Nigerian midfielder Sekou Oliseh injured his hip before CSKA’s 1-0 victory over FC Terek Grozny at the weekend and has remained in Russia.

Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez is sidelined until 2010 with an ankle injury, while Guilherme will also miss out.

Probable Starting XIs (*Star man):

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Neville, Evans, Brown, Evra; Obertan, Carrick, Scholes, Nani; Rooney, Owen*.

CSKA Moscow (4-5-1): Akinfeev*; Ignashevich, A Berezutski, V Berezutski, Schennikov; Semberas, Mamaev, Carvalho, Krasić, Dzagoev; Necid.

ExtraFootie Prediction: Manchester United 2 - 0 CSKA - With qualification in their sights, United will be determined to secure a victory at Old Trafford. A win will send the home side through leaving them to concentrate all their efforts on overhauling Chelsea's two point gap at the top of the table on Sunday.

Fancy a flutter? PaddyPower offers United to win 2-1 at 7/1 or Michael Owen to open the scoring at 9/2.