United v Birmingham FA Premier League Sunday 16 August (13:30 BST) Old Trafford

Match Pack: Birmingham

The Reds welcome Birmingham City to Old Trafford on Sunday as the new Barclays Premier League season gets underway...

Form guide
It looks ominous for Sunday's visitors. United's only defeats since the summer break have come via penalties (Chelsea in the Community Shield, Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup) – otherwise, Sir Alex's men have won their six other pre-season friendlies. Birmingham, meanwhile, haven’t enjoyed too much success. Alex McLeish’s men beat Cheltenham and Dagenham & Redbridge but lost all three games in Austria on their pre-season tour, as well as matches to Nottingham Forest and Crewe Alexandra. Most recently, the Blues drew 0-0 with Spanish side Sporting Gijon.

Ins and outs
After keeping clear of injuries for much of pre-season, the Reds have picked up a few niggles in recent weeks. It's at the back where most of Sir Alex's concerns lie: Nemanja Vidic (calf), Wes Brown (thigh), Gary Neville (groin) and Jonny Evans (ankle) are all doubts, while Rafael (shoulder) and Edwin van der Sar (hand/finger) will definitely miss the match. Elsewhere in the side, Nani (shoulder) may be rested after coming off against Chelsea last Sunday, although he did play 17 minutes for Portugal on Wednesday night. For all the latest team news, make sure to log onto ManUtd.com on Friday after Sir Alex's pre-match press conference (14:00 BST).

As for Birmingham, anyone would think St Andrew's has been transformed into a makeshift hospital ward at the moment. Alex McLeish could be without up to eight players – Giovanny Espinosa (thigh), Scott Dann (thigh), David Murphy (knee), Christian Benitez (shoulder), Marcus Bent (hamstring), Maik Taylor (ankle), Liam Ridgewell (leg) – which isn't the best scenario when you're about to head to the home of the Champions.

Star man
Barry Ferguson has attracted plenty of headlines in the last six months or so. He certainly made the right kind when he moved from Rangers to Birmingham City in July. It's he the Blues fans will look to for the creativity in midfield, as City aim to stay in the top flight for more than one season this time.

Rivals watch
Chelsea kick off their league campaign with a 12:45 Saturday kick-off against Hull City at Stamford Bridge, while Arsenal travel to Everton for the late (17:30) kick-off. Like United, Liverpool play on Sunday – Benitez's boys are at Tottenham (16:00).

Referee
Lee Mason will be the man in the middle. He's already taken charge of one competitive fixture this season – Middlesbrough v Sheffield United in the Championship – where he dished out a solitary yellow card.

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