Ravaged United take kids to Germany

United need a point to guarantee top spot, but only have one orthodox defender available - Patrice Evra .

Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and both Rafael and Fabio da Silva are all unavailable for the match in Germany.

United have also taken the option of leaving Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov at home.

Among the less familiar faces in the 19-man United squad are chief executive David Gill's son Oliver, Magnus Eikrem, Cameron Stewart, Matt James and Oliver Norwood.

Ferguson has already revealed his intention to play Michael Carrick in central defence, while Darren Fletcher could partner him in preference to Evra, in order to deal with the aerial threat of Wolfburg striker Edin Dzeko.

Dzeko, who stands at 6'4", has scored three times in the Champions League this season and has attracted interest from the Reds.

"He is a talented footballer," said assistant Mike Phelan. "He appeals because he is a tall boy and is skilful and in some ways he is an ideal player for the league in England."

Despite the lack of first-team players in the squad, Paul Scholes believes that United go to Germany focused on getting a positive result. "We want to win the game and finish top of the group," Scholes said.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, believes that John Terry will be ready to face Apoel Nicosia at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

The Blues skipper limped out of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.

Doubts also remain about the fitness of Michael Ballack (knee) and Ashley Cole (ankle).

Ancelotti insists that he has no plans to rest key players for the match, claiming that it is important to play his strongest possible side in Europe despite Chelsea having already qualifying as group winners.

"I want to put the best side out," Ancelotti said. "I want to control the game and use my squad the best I can."