Watch Manchester United v Roma live tonight, on RTÉ 2 from 7pm and online at www.rte.ie (RoI only) from 7.45pm.
Alex Ferguson is convinced Manchester United's European home record will be a help, not a hindrance when they look to reach the Champions League semi-finals at Roma's expense tonight.
The Red Devils face Roma at Old Trafford looking to overturn the 2-1 lead built up by the Italians at the Stadio Olimpico six days ago.
On the five previous occasions United have lost first-leg encounters in knockout combat, they have gone out of the competition.
The last time they overturned such a deficit in any meaningful European tie was in 1984 when Bryan Robson inspired an amazing comeback against a Barcelona side containing Maradona, turning a two-goal deficit into a 3-2 Cup Winners' Cup triumph.
However, Ferguson knows United have a formidable record on home soil, having lost just seven times at Old Trafford in their entire 50-year European history, all by a single goal.
'That is not a bad record,' the Scot said. 'Old Trafford is not an easy place to come to and Roma will not have it easy tonight.'
With Louis Saha joining a lengthy injury list and Paul Scholes suspended, United's resources are stretched.
Yet Ferguson remains confident he has the players to book a semi-final appearance against either AC Milan or Bayern Munich and retains the utmost faith in Edwin van der Sar despite a couple of blunders from the Dutchman recently.
'Edwin has the experience,' Ferguson added. 'He knows how to deal with it. You do not get 120 caps for your country without having the ability to handle situations like that. He will be okay.'
If Van der Sar can keep Roma out at one end, Ferguson will be heavily reliant on Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to find the goals that will take United into the last four for the first time since 2002.
The tie represents the young duo's first encounter with Italian opposition since their inexperience was exposed by AC Milan two seasons ago.
Rooney believes both players have matured since those successive 1-0 defeats and, in Ronaldo, feels United have the number one player on the planet just now.
'At the minute, Cristiano is by far the best player in the world,' said Rooney. 'His performances have been unbelievable. He is winning games on his own this season.
'Hopefully he can work some of his magic and get us into the semi-finals.
Manchester United squad: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Cathcart, Heinze, Evra, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick, Eagles, Giggs, Richardson, Solskjaer, Smith, Rooney, Dong.
