Rio braced for Blackburn

Rio Ferdinand expects one of the most demanding tests of the season when United take on Blackburn at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Mark Hughes' men are currently ninth in the league, but are still chasing European football via the Intertoto Cup. They are a team moulded on their manager's attributes: feisty, determined, but with no small amount of ability.

"Blackburn are a physical side, but they're not dirty," Rio told ManUtd.com. "They work hard for each other and that has helped them get where they are. But they also have talented players, so it's not guaranteed we’ll come away with three points.

"They've got quality all over the pitch. In Roque Santa Cruz, Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts they have players that can all score goals.

"David Bentley is also a talented footballer. He was highly thought of at Arsenal but had to leave to spread his wings. He did that by moving to Blackburn and now he’s getting the accolades his hard work deserves.

"Blackburn always lift themselves against us, and in recent seasons there have been quite a few goals in our games. Hopefully that's the case again… although we’ll want to be the ones scoring all the goals!"