CFR Cluj v Manchester United: Red Devils face tricky away clash

Wayne Rooney will be back on the pitch in Romania

Manchester United look to put Saturday's disappointment behind them as they travel to Romania on Tuesday night for their second Group H match in the Champions League. Their opponents are the in-form, CFR Cluj, and getting a win will be far from easy for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

CFR Cluj pulled of a surprise result in their opening game of the group by defeating Sporting Braga 2-0 in Portugal. They are on course to better their bottom placed finishes in 08/09 and 10/11, which were the only two times they made it this far in the competition.

The Railwaymen don't suffer too many losses at their home of the Conserva Stadium; just two in the last 18 in all competitions, and they score goals for fun, with Brazilian Rafael Bastos the man in form at the moment.

Manchester United are trading around the 1.728/11 mark to add another win to their 1-0 victory over Galatasary at Old Trafford, but that seems plenty short enough to me. Fergie's side aren't really clicking at the moment. They've had lucky wins over Southampton and Liverpool, and then the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend.

The Red Devils were beaten by Basel in their last European away tie and I'm sure they would take a point if offered it before kick off. The draw can be backed at 4.03/1 and that screams value to me as Ferguson is likely to set up a touch more defensively than usual.

Wayne Rooney is fit again and looked good on Saturday when he came on, but I expect he will be deployed on the flank, as United opt for one up front. He's going to have a point to prove though as he will not want to play second fiddle to Robin Van Persie and, with penalty duties in his locker, you could do worse than backing Rooney to be first goalscorer at around the 6.411/2 mark.

Given that these two both won their opening fixtures, I think both managers would settle for a point. I don't envisage great risks being taken if the scores are level late on. That said, neither defence is rock solid so 1-1 at 8.07/1 and 2-2 at 18.017/1 both look decent value in the correct score market.

Recommended Bets
Back the draw @ 4.03/1
Back Wayne Rooney First Goalscorer @ 6.411/2
Back 1-1 @ 8.07/1
Back 2-2 @ 18.017/1