Portsmouth 1 - 0 Manchester United

Portsmouth v Man Utd: Preview

Updated: April 16, 2004, 5:18 PM UK

Portsmouth must test injury doubts Linvoy Primus (hamstring), Amdy Faye (calf) and Petri Pasanen (ankle) before the lunch-time clash with Manchester United at Fratton Park.

Former United defender John Curtis, former Arsenal reserve Richard Hughes and Frenchman Sebastian Schemmel are on standby in case any of the trio are ruled out.

Manager Harry Redknapp's biggest dilemma, however, is whether to start with veteran striker Teddy Sheringham's experience against his old club or stick with the all-African front-line pairing of on-loan Lomana LuaLua and Aiyegbeni Yakubu that earned four Easter points out of six against Charlton and Birmingham.

Manchester United are unlikely to recall captain Roy Keane and top-scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Keane has missed two matches after picking up bumps and bruises in the FA Cup win over Arsenal, while Van Nistelrooy has not played since suffering a knee injury in the league encounter with the Gunners.

Neither player has trained sufficiently this week and are likely to miss out, while Diego Forlan is definitely absent with an Achilles strain.

Sir Alex Ferguson is not expecting an easy time against a Portsmouth side he is tipping to escape the drop under the charge of old friends Harry Redknapp and Jim Smith.

"With those two together, you can't see them going down," he said. "They are a wily pair - you certainly wouldn't want to be playing poker against them.

"When you see the job Harry Redknapp did at West Ham and is now doing at Portsmouth, you have to be full of admiration for him, while Jim is a great old friend of mine, who has had a fantastic career.

"They also have Teddy Sheringham - who is nearly as old as they are - and he will be a threat whether he is playing from the start or on the bench."

What United have to stop them with is a renewed confidence in defence.

The Red Devils have conceded just two goals in five games, keeping three clean sheets in the process and no matter what other changes Ferguson is planning, his back four is likely to stay the same.

"Our defenders are in good form," said Ferguson.

"They got us through against Leicester and they are providing us with a good foundation to win matches, which is always the aim of this club.

"I have to be pleased with that."