Sir Alex Ferguson has said he will give Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand every chance to prove their fitness for Saturday’s Premier League derby against Manchester City (7/4 Man City 23/10 draw 6/4 Man United – match betting).

Rooney, who has scored 34 goals in all competitions this season, has not played since aggravating his ankle in the return leg against Bayern Munich and Ferguson has said he will take no chances with the England international (7/2 Rooney – Last Goalscorer).

The Scot said on Friday: “We’ll have to wait to see what he’s like [in training] today.

“He’s done some good work over the last few days. The big problem is that all the players want to play. But we have to be 100 per cent sure that Wayne is ready.”

Ferguson revealed Rooney is ahead of team-mates Giggs and Ferdinand for the trip to Eastlands but that they too will be given every consideration.

“They’re behind Wayne in progress,” he added. “They’ve done jogging but again we’ll have to see how they do today.”

Long-term injury-victim Owen Hargreaves and John O’Shea are expected to make the short journey across the city for what Ferguson expects will be a crucial game.

“It’s a pivotal week of the season for four teams – ourselves, Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs,” added Ferguson.

“Being selfish, we obviously hope that we and Spurs both win.”