Manchester United (7/4 to win at Eastlands) will welcome back Darren Fletcher for Tuesday night’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg at Manchester City (6/4), while Dimitar Berbatov and Nemanja Vidic could also feature.

Midfielder Fletcher missed United’s 3-0 victory over Burnley through suspension but is available for the derby showdown at Eastlands and is expected to start the game.

Berbatov (7/1 to score the first goal on Tuesday) limped off against the Clarets but is expected to recover from a dead leg, while Vidic has missed the last three games but is making a good recovery from a nerve problem in his leg.

Veteran winger Ryan Giggs is likely to be rested by Ferguson, while youngster Federico Macheda has a hamstring problem and looks set to miss out.

Meanwhile, City will be without injured striker Roque Santa Cruz – who could be sidelined for a month with a calf problem – while recent signing Patrick Vieira is ineligible.

There is some better news though for Roberto Mancini, as Stephen Ireland is expected to be named in the City squad after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Make sure you check out all of Totesport’s football betting markets ahead of Tuesday’s Carling Cup Manchester-derby showdown.