Roy Keane has admitted Manchester United's alarming goalscoring crisis is a recipe for disaster - but Sir Alex Ferguson is convinced head chef Ruud van Nistelrooy can cook up a feast at Old Trafford tonight.
Van Nistelrooy will return to the United starting line-up for the Champions League clash with Sparta Prague having served the first two games of a three-match domestic ban which has ruled him out of Sunday's Manchester derby.
With just two Barclays Premiership goals all season - both from the penalty spot - the Dutchman's lack of form is a major worry for the Red Devils camp, especially as Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha are struggling to find the net.
In continental combat though, van Nistelrooy is virtually peerless in the scoring stakes. Within three years of his arrival from PSV, he has already eclipsed Denis Law's European scoring record for United, while a combined 37-goal Champions League tally from his time in Holland and England leaves him trailing only Raul in the all-time competition charts.
And though he claims to have a strikeforce the envy of Europe, having watched his side's pitiful attempts to find a breakthrough at Portsmouth last Saturday, Ferguson accepts van Nistelrooy is a man without peer.
"I have high hopes of Ruud van Nistelrooy," said the United boss. "I hope every chance falls to him because his percentage of goals to chances is incredible." The trend will have to be altered pretty quickly if United are to stand any realistic chance of playing a major role in this season's title race.
Already nine points adrift of pace-setters Arsenal and Chelsea, the Red Devils are languishing seventh in the table and 14th in the overall scoring charts, with Crystal Palace's Andy Johnson scoring two more league goals than van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Smith and Saha combined. "On Saturday we missed too many chances and gave away two bad goals," said Keane. "That is a recipe for disaster at any level. You can analyse a game as much as you like but if you are going to miss the chances we created against Portsmouth, you are going to cause yourself trouble."
Keane is remaining relaxed about United's current situation, insisting there is too much talent in the squad for the present problems to last. He said: "This is the best individual talent we have had here in 10 years but it is not just about individual talent, it is about what the team do on a match day.
The Irishman is set to replace Phil Neville in the starting line-up tonight. Apart from his return and that of van Nistelrooy, the only other possible change would be Saha for Rooney.
After exploding on to the European scene with his debut-day hat-trick against Fenerbahce, the teenage England striker has struggled and Ferguson feels the effects of his 96-day absence with a broken foot is a major factor.
"Wayne didn't do the pre-season preparation we would have liked," said Ferguson.
"Adrenaline can keep you going in these situations but there is bound to be a kind of levelling out in terms of pace and tiredness."
It might have drawn a snigger or possibly even a snort of indignation but is it really so ludicrous to suggest Steve Harper deserves an England call-up?
I don't think so....
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