TEVEZ READY TO GO

Carlos Tevez will make his Manchester United debut at Fratton Park as the Barclays Premier League champions look to kickstart their campaign with a win at Portsmouth.

Wayne Rooney (fractured foot) is out for two months and with neither Ole Gunnar Solskjaer nor Louis Saha likely to start after only returning to training last week following long-term injuries, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo will be asked to provide striking support to the Argentina forward.

Nani may have to be content with a place on the bench and while Owen Hargreaves might hope to be involved, fellow new arrival Anderson may have to wait for his first taste of competitive action.

Mikael Silvestre is a major doubt after limping out of the Reading draw.

New Portsmouth skipper Sol Campbell and Portuguese midfielder Pedro Mendes must pass fitness checks on groin injuries if they are to play.

Linvoy Primus (knee) is still out while Andy O'Brien has joined Bolton.

Midfielder Gary O'Neil is recovering from ankle trouble following summer surgery but could challenge Sean Davis for a central-midfield role or play on the wing - allowing new £7million signing John Utaka to move up front.

Kanu is hoping for promotion from substitute to start alongside his Nigeria team-mate Utaka and it may be the turn of David Nugent and Benjani Mwaruwari to take places on the bench if manager Harry Redknapp opts for a striker-rotation policy.

Teams

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Simpson, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Pique, Evra, O'Shea, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Nani, Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez, Saha, Solskjaer.

Portsmouth (from): James, Lauren, Distin, Campbell, Hreidarsson, O'Neil, Pedro Mendes, Davis, Muntari, Kanu, Utaka, Nugent, Benjani, Hughes, Traore, Pamarot, Stefanovic, Traore, Ashdown.

from =football365=