Alex Ferguson backs United to bounce back after Derby defeat

Manchester United will be boosted by the return from injury of defender Rio Ferdinand for their mouth-watering Premier League match against Chelsea. England international Ferdinand has been suffering back spasms since last month but Ferguson said he would be available for the Old Trafford encounter. He said: "We are delighted to have Rio fit again and back in contention. He's been having spasms and has missed the last few games and that's given us an opportunity to get it settled down. "He does make the difference as he has the stature and presence in a big game." The Scot said his third-placed team needed to take advantage of the fact that they would be playing at home against all their main title rivals in the second half of the season. "Our home form is going to be 100 per cent in the run-in we hope. We've been away from home to all the top sides and now we've got them at home in the second half of the season and that will play a part in deciding whether we have a chance of winning." Champions United trail leaders Liverpool by seven points but have two games in hand. They are four points behind Chelsea on 38 from 18 games.

» More on this story... «

ITN | January 9, 2009

Tags:. .mouthwatering. .stature. .spasms. .runin. .trafford