Manchester United against AC Milan

Keane is pulling the strings in midfield, always on hand to collect loose defensive passes from Milan and orchestrate another attack

Nesta clears Milan's lines after Saha and Giggs fail to capitalise on a great ball into the box by Keane

Rooney overhits a pass for Giggs after breaking up a neat display of one touch keep-ball by Milan

It's legend for legend as Milan substitue Cafu for Costacurta

Kaladze tackles Brown, who is way up the pitch pressing for a United equaliser

Scholes with a risky pass across his defenders is intercepted by Kaka who tries his luck with a long-range shot. United looking ragged.

Ambrosini replaces Pirlo for Milan

Saha goes down after a challenge from Crespo following a United corner

Giggs tests Dida with a deep freekick which drifted toward the goal's top corner

United are desperate for the equaliser and the chance to get something out of tonight, but by committing men forward they are stretched at the back

Great shot by Kaka who fires just wide!

Double change for United: Off go Gary Neville and Fortune and on come Silvestre and Louis Saha - so Saha, Rooney and van Nistelrooy in attack!

That alters everything in the match and the tie overall - United undone by a goalkeeping howler.

A terrible mistake by Carroll gifts Crespo a tap-in. Seedorf lashed a swerving dive straight to Carroll, but the keeper failed to collect it first time, spilling it into Crespo's path who couldn't miss.

Goal for Milan!!

Rooney and RvN link-up well and almost a chance is created fro Giggs by RvN - great move

A blazing miss from Crespo! Kaka ran in from deep before feeding a perfect ball to Crespo. The striker chose to check inside his marker instead of shooting first time and when he shot, Crespo shot wide.

Rui Costa, who hasn't scored a Champiosn League goal in 5 years, shows why with a shot which he pulled wide of Carroll's goal

Rio Ferdinand finds himself in the unusual position of being United's most advanced player, hussling and pressurising his opposite number, Nesta

Cafu lucky to avoid the ref's card after kicking the ball away after fouling Giggs

Fortunue, who has had one of his better games for United, shields the ball under pressure from two Milanese players before shifting the ball wide

Carroll claims the ball as it floats into the box and quickly throws it towards Giggs

Corner for Milan

The corner is wasted, but the skill shown by Milan a moment ago underlines to United that, despite being in control for the last 10 minutes, they must reamin alert

Great block from Wes Brown - Crespo's shot is out for a corner after a superb build-up of one touch play from Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf.

United's defence mop-up a Milan attack - Brown and Ferdinand have thus far been excellent in the second half

Rooney lets fly with a rasping drive, but he leant back and his shot flew high over. The introduction of RvN has created more space for Rooney who is always dangerous breaking from deep.

25 minutes to go and there is little to choose between the two sides

Rooney getting very animated! This time justly, he shouts at the ref and linesman after his deflected shot is ruled as a goal-kick not a corner. He's kept his temper in check so far..

Ruud van Nistelrooy joins the game at the expense of Ronaldo (who looks very uhappy to be withdrawn). RvN has 36 goals in 37 Champions League games, can he improve on this incredible record

As 0-0's go this has been superb entertainment - much ebb and flow to the game, with skill shown by both sides

The crowd chant 'Ruud, Ruud' as van Nistelrooy awaits his return from injury

Giggs showing he's a man for the big stage - he's shown great guile, strength on the ball and is causing problems for Milan

Excellent interception from Heinze - he's outstretched leg foils a pass which would have created a chance for Kaka.

Ruud van Nistelrooy looks poised to join the game!

Milan are clearly intent on getting an away goal - if it ends 0-0 United can be happy!

At the other end Giggs threatened but imperious defending from Maldini calms the the situation

A Milan attack breaks down after great work by Kaka was undone by a poor touch from Seedorf

Milan take a corner quickly and United are almost caught out - Milan seeking to press home the advantage they have at the moment as they press United back for the first time this half

The game is being played at a tempo more akin to the Premier League - Milan showing they can mix it with any team in any style

Cafu adjudged to have fouled to Heinze - lucky for United who were stretched after an attack broke down.

Heinze acrobatically cuts out a pass aimed at Crespo - good defending

More attacking from Milan - they are pressing just as they did in the first half, but they fail to capitalise on two corners

But Milan' move breaks down and Rooney tears forward

Giggs' corner fails to beat the first defender and Milan break with Rui Costa

Cristiano Ronaldo takes the freekick but he hammers it into the wall, Roy Keane fires in a shot from the ricochet and United have a corner

Ronaldo is felled by Kaladze after Giggs squared a ball to the edge of the penalty area. Freekick, again outside the box in a dangerous area

Now is Heinze and Brown's turn to show how to defend in numbers this time Crespo is the player to lose out

Pirlo, Kaladze and Maldini show their composure and skill on the ball by swapping neat passes to get the ball away from Ronaldo and Scholes

Second half underway and right away Nesta and Dida are caught-out and Giggs almost has a shot on goal

If United can hold onto the ball more in the middle of the pitch and press forward rather than be pressed back they will have a better platform on which to build attacks. Milan will be pleased with their performance so far and look for more of the same. Keep it here for the second half!

United, while pegged back for much of the half, have created the best goal-scoring chances, Fortune, Scholes and Keane all with decent efforts. Rooney and Ronadlo have been peripheral, but dismiss them at your peril.

Milan have been a very positive attacking force in the first half, quite uncharacteristic for an Italian side in an important away fixture in the Champions League. However, they have been unable to get too many clear-cut chances on the United goal.

Halftime!

Indecision at the back from Wes Brown almost allows Milan the chance to get a shot away - a lucky escape

Yellow card for Fortune

The best United move of the game ends with Keane firing low at the Milan goal. Gary Neville, Scholes, Fortune all coming well with one-touch passes before setting the chance up for Keane

Gary Neville on rare foray up the pitch fires in a decent ball, but Maldini defends it well

Scholes and Keane are being forced to play very deep - meaning United are unable to hold and press in the middle, which in turn hands Milan the advantage

An exquisite touch from Rooney almost gifts Ronaldo a chance on goal, but the flicked pass over the defenders was just too heavy

Keane robs the ball from Gattuso, but Seedorf fouls Ronaldo to halt United's move

Heinze's pass is cut out by Cafu and Milan show thier class with one-touch passing, moving play left-to-right

A break in play as Brown gets his senses back - he just caught a fierce drive from Kaka square on the nose

Fortune puts an effort fractions wide after a United quick-break. He was slipped a great ball, but his first touch let him down and was off balance when he shot, the ball just grazing the post

Rooney goes to ground on the left of the penalty area afte losing the ball under pressure from Pirlo and Maldini - but no foul

Maldini hoists a longball out of defence to release the pressure after United looked to sneak down the left wing

More attacking for Milan, Ruis Costa floating a wonderful ball out wide to Pirlo

Sadly for United the freekick is wasted; Rooney's shot was low and canoned into and off the wall and Milan break

Yellow card for Nesta after his high foot caught a rampaging Giggs in the face - freekick, just to the left of the Milan goal, at the top of the 'D'

Milan are being very positive, always looking for a forward pass and to move the game to United. This has made it very tough for United to get a handle on the game, and as a result Rooney has been isolated

Maldini slips a cool pass to Kaladze after moving the ball out of defence to the centre of the pitch

Fortune slips a the ball inside to Ronaldo who tries a shot, but it is charged down

Cafu fells Ronaldo, and United have a freekick on the left flank

More excellent defensive work from Wes Brown, ensuring a Milan attack comes to nothing

Rooney has a 'quiet' word with the referee - the firey youngster needs to watch his temper tonight, Milan's experienced defender will use every trick in the book to wind-up the 19-year-old

Scholes walks into a wall of Milanese defenders and defensive midfielders - Old Trafford cries 'foul', but the truth is Scholes was simply out-numbered

Cafu and Pirlo are working in tandem on the right, exchanging passes looking for chinks in the United armour

Heinze overhits a cross aimed at Rooney and Maldini nonchanantly chests the ball to Dida

Gattuso and Rui Costa bossing the midfield, switching pass and moving play forward

Plenty of attacking flair from Milan - United pegged back at the moment

Ferdinand and Crespo tangle, Crespo falls but its no foul despite the Argentine's tumble.

Cafu wastes possession for the Rossoneri by launching a cross into the box when there was no teammate in sight.

Pirlo's effort from the freekick is straight at the wall

Keane is ruled to have fouled Kaka and Milan have another freekick in a dangerous central area.

Scholes with another shot, this time Cafu blocks the effort - atoning for his earlier mistake

Maldini works the ball up the left flank, but Cafu loose it and United break

Not a typical Milan attitude tonight - the game is quite open, with both sides attaking at every given opportunity

Seedforf and Pirlo exchange passes, but Gattuso is fouled by Ronaldo and the move stalls

A foul given against Rooney for a shove on Nesta

Paul Scholes squanders a great opportunity for United by firing wide. It was great work by Fortune, he skipped by Nesta to deliver a great ball to back of the penalty area, but Scholes fires wide

Seedorf takes the freekick, driving a fantastic shot against the top of the bar

Milan win a freekick in a central position 5 yards outside the United box

Nesta gets the better of Rooney - it will be interesting to see how that particular on-pitch match-up will develop

Giggs fires in a great ball from a freekick on the left, but Nesta shows his skill for reading the game by intercepting the cross

A decent attack from United with Giggs and Heinze linking-up well

At the other end two chances in quick succesion for Milan, first Brown did well to shepherd the ball to Carroll, then Crespo firing a shot across the goal and out of play

Space opens up for Paul Scholes and he drives a low shot just wide of Dida's goal

Ronaldo shows his raw pace by outstripping Pirlo on the left

The corner is overhit and United break

Gattuso, Kaladze, Cafu and combine to send Kaka forward who wins a corner for Milan

There is a little snow in the air as Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez gets the game underway

Sadly Milan's Jaap Stam will not play tonight and make his Old Trafford comeback. The Dutch central defender injured himself in the warm-up, Cafu takes his place.

And for AC Milan: Dida, Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Kaka, Crespo. On the Subs bench: Abbiati, Costacurta, Tomasson, Ambrosini, Dhorasoo, Serginho. Referee: Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain)

For United: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Keane, Fortune, Giggs, Rooney. And on the bench: Howard, Phil Neville, Saha, van Nistelrooy, Smith, O'Shea and Silvestre.

What a game in prospect! Kick off is moments away, so here are the line-ups:

Rooney and RvN link-up well and almost a chance is created fro Giggs by RvN - great move

A blazing miss from Crespo! Kaka ran in from deep before feeding a perfect ball to Crespo. The striker chose to check inside his marker instead of shooting first time and when he shot, Crespo shot wide.

Rui Costa, who hasn't scored a Champiosn League goal in 5 years, shows why with a shot which he pulled wide of Carroll's goal

Rio Ferdinand finds himself in the unusual position of being United's most advanced player, hussling and pressurising his opposite number, Nesta

Cafu lucky to avoid the ref's card after kicking the ball away after fouling Giggs

Fortunue, who has had one of his better games for United, shields the ball under pressure from two Milanese players before shifting the ball wide

Carroll claims the ball as it floats into the box and quickly throws it towards Giggs

Corner for Milan

The corner is wasted, but the skill shown by Milan a moment ago underlines to United that, despite being in control for the last 10 minutes, they must reamin alert

Great block from Wes Brown - Crespo's shot is out for a corner after a superb build-up of one touch play from Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf.

United's defence mop-up a Milan attack - Brown and Ferdinand have thus far been excellent in the second half

Rooney lets fly with a rasping drive, but he leant back and his shot flew high over. The introduction of RvN has created more space for Rooney who is always dangerous breaking from deep.

25 minutes to go and there is little to choose between the two sides

Rooney getting very animated! This time justly, he shouts at the ref and linesman after his deflected shot is ruled as a goal-kick not a corner. He's kept his temper in check so far..

Ruud van Nistelrooy joins the game at the expense of Ronaldo (who looks very uhappy to be withdrawn). RvN has 36 goals in 37 Champions League games, can he improve on this incredible record

As 0-0's go this has been superb entertainment - much ebb and flow to the game, with skill shown by both sides

The crowd chant 'Ruud, Ruud' as van Nistelrooy awaits his return from injury

Giggs showing he's a man for the big stage - he's shown great guile, strength on the ball and is causing problems for Milan

Excellent interception from Heinze - he's outstretched leg foils a pass which would have created a chance for Kaka.

Ruud van Nistelrooy looks poised to join the game!

Milan are clearly intent on getting an away goal - if it ends 0-0 United can be happy!

At the other end Giggs threatened but imperious defending from Maldini calms the the situation

A Milan attack breaks down after great work by Kaka was undone by a poor touch from Seedorf

Milan take a corner quickly and United are almost caught out - Milan seeking to press home the advantage they have at the moment as they press United back for the first time this half

The game is being played at a tempo more akin to the Premier League - Milan showing they can mix it with any team in any style

Cafu adjudged to have fouled to Heinze - lucky for United who were stretched after an attack broke down.

Heinze acrobatically cuts out a pass aimed at Crespo - good defending

More attacking from Milan - they are pressing just as they did in the first half, but they fail to capitalise on two corners

But Milan' move breaks down and Rooney tears forward

Giggs' corner fails to beat the first defender and Milan break with Rui Costa

Cristiano Ronaldo takes the freekick but he hammers it into the wall, Roy Keane fires in a shot from the ricochet and United have a corner

Ronaldo is felled by Kaladze after Giggs squared a ball to the edge of the penalty area. Freekick, again outside the box in a dangerous area

Now is Heinze and Brown's turn to show how to defend in numbers this time Crespo is the player to lose out

Pirlo, Kaladze and Maldini show their composure and skill on the ball by swapping neat passes to get the ball away from Ronaldo and Scholes

Second half underway and right away Nesta and Dida are caught-out and Giggs almost has a shot on goal

If United can hold onto the ball more in the middle of the pitch and press forward rather than be pressed back they will have a better platform on which to build attacks. Milan will be pleased with their performance so far and look for more of the same. Keep it here for the second half!

United, while pegged back for much of the half, have created the best goal-scoring chances, Fortune, Scholes and Keane all with decent efforts. Rooney and Ronadlo have been peripheral, but dismiss them at your peril.

Milan have been a very positive attacking force in the first half, quite uncharacteristic for an Italian side in an important away fixture in the Champions League. However, they have been unable to get too many clear-cut chances on the United goal.

Halftime!

Indecision at the back from Wes Brown almost allows Milan the chance to get a shot away - a lucky escape

Yellow card for Fortune

The best United move of the game ends with Keane firing low at the Milan goal. Gary Neville, Scholes, Fortune all coming well with one-touch passes before setting the chance up for Keane

Gary Neville on rare foray up the pitch fires in a decent ball, but Maldini defends it well

Scholes and Keane are being forced to play very deep - meaning United are unable to hold and press in the middle, which in turn hands Milan the advantage

An exquisite touch from Rooney almost gifts Ronaldo a chance on goal, but the flicked pass over the defenders was just too heavy

Keane robs the ball from Gattuso, but Seedorf fouls Ronaldo to halt United's move

Heinze's pass is cut out by Cafu and Milan show thier class with one-touch passing, moving play left-to-right

A break in play as Brown gets his senses back - he just caught a fierce drive from Kaka square on the nose

Fortune puts an effort fractions wide after a United quick-break. He was slipped a great ball, but his first touch let him down and was off balance when he shot, the ball just grazing the post

Rooney goes to ground on the left of the penalty area afte losing the ball under pressure from Pirlo and Maldini - but no foul

Maldini hoists a longball out of defence to release the pressure after United looked to sneak down the left wing

More attacking for Milan, Ruis Costa floating a wonderful ball out wide to Pirlo

Sadly for United the freekick is wasted; Rooney's shot was low and canoned into and off the wall and Milan break

Yellow card for Nesta after his high foot caught a rampaging Giggs in the face - freekick, just to the left of the Milan goal, at the top of the 'D'

Milan are being very positive, always looking for a forward pass and to move the game to United. This has made it very tough for United to get a handle on the game, and as a result Rooney has been isolated

Maldini slips a cool pass to Kaladze after moving the ball out of defence to the centre of the pitch

Fortune slips a the ball inside to Ronaldo who tries a shot, but it is charged down

Cafu fells Ronaldo, and United have a freekick on the left flank

More excellent defensive work from Wes Brown, ensuring a Milan attack comes to nothing

Rooney has a 'quiet' word with the referee - the firey youngster needs to watch his temper tonight, Milan's experienced defender will use every trick in the book to wind-up the 19-year-old

Scholes walks into a wall of Milanese defenders and defensive midfielders - Old Trafford cries 'foul', but the truth is Scholes was simply out-numbered

Cafu and Pirlo are working in tandem on the right, exchanging passes looking for chinks in the United armour

Heinze overhits a cross aimed at Rooney and Maldini nonchanantly chests the ball to Dida

Gattuso and Rui Costa bossing the midfield, switching pass and moving play forward

Plenty of attacking flair from Milan - United pegged back at the moment

Ferdinand and Crespo tangle, Crespo falls but its no foul despite the Argentine's tumble.

Cafu wastes possession for the Rossoneri by launching a cross into the box when there was no teammate in sight.

Pirlo's effort from the freekick is straight at the wall

Keane is ruled to have fouled Kaka and Milan have another freekick in a dangerous central area.

Scholes with another shot, this time Cafu blocks the effort - atoning for his earlier mistake

Maldini works the ball up the left flank, but Cafu loose it and United break

Not a typical Milan attitude tonight - the game is quite open, with both sides attaking at every given opportunity

Seedforf and Pirlo exchange passes, but Gattuso is fouled by Ronaldo and the move stalls

A foul given against Rooney for a shove on Nesta

Paul Scholes squanders a great opportunity for United by firing wide. It was great work by Fortune, he skipped by Nesta to deliver a great ball to back of the penalty area, but Scholes fires wide

Seedorf takes the freekick, driving a fantastic shot against the top of the bar

Milan win a freekick in a central position 5 yards outside the United box

Nesta gets the better of Rooney - it will be interesting to see how that particular on-pitch match-up will develop

Giggs fires in a great ball from a freekick on the left, but Nesta shows his skill for reading the game by intercepting the cross

A decent attack from United with Giggs and Heinze linking-up well

At the other end two chances in quick succesion for Milan, first Brown did well to shepherd the ball to Carroll, then Crespo firing a shot across the goal and out of play

Space opens up for Paul Scholes and he drives a low shot just wide of Dida's goal

Ronaldo shows his raw pace by outstripping Pirlo on the left

The corner is overhit and United break

Gattuso, Kaladze, Cafu and combine to send Kaka forward who wins a corner for Milan

There is a little snow in the air as Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez gets the game underway

Sadly Milan's Jaap Stam will not play tonight and make his Old Trafford comeback. The Dutch central defender injured himself in the warm-up, Cafu takes his place.

And for AC Milan: Dida, Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Kaka, Crespo. On the Subs bench: Abbiati, Costacurta, Tomasson, Ambrosini, Dhorasoo, Serginho. Referee: Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain)

For United: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Keane, Fortune, Giggs, Rooney. And on the bench: Howard, Phil Neville, Saha, van Nistelrooy, Smith, O'Shea and Silvestre.

What a game in prospect! Kick off is moments away, so here are the line-ups: