AC Milan boss Leonardo is remaining tight-lipped about whether David Beckham will start against his old club Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Italians are trailing 3-2 from the first leg and need to score at least twice to secure progression. They are 25/1 with totesport.com to make history by winning 2-0 at Old Trafford as United have never been knocked out of European competition after winning an away first leg.

Beckham will add another attacking dimension to the Milan side and the 34-year-old is expected to make an appearance against the club he left in 2003 at some point. This makes the 11/1 Last Goalscorer about Beckham tempting, particularly if Milan are forced to go all guns blazing to secure the goals they need.

If Milan are to succeed, they will need to keep Wayne Rooney quiet. He will return to the United side after missing the weekend’s Premier League trip to Wolves with a minor knee injury. Despite the absence, the England striker will be fresh and determined to prevail against his international team-mate. Rooney is the 7/2 favourite to be first scorer.

Ronaldinho has expressed his concern over Rooney, confidently suggesting “if we can stop him our own options soar”.

The Milan star is predicting “a very attacking game with many goals” and Totesport are offering 3/1 for 3 goals and 9/2 for 4 goals this evening.

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Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is worried relegation-threatened Wigan may try rough-house tactics against his Premier League top-four chasers at the DW Stadium on Monday (Wigan 9/2 draw 11/4 Liverpool 8/13 match betting).

The Spaniard is convinced the number of injuries picked up by players in the Premier League is proof that the English game is the most physical and is worried referees are under too much pressure to make the right decisions.

Latics are just three points above third-from-bottom Hull and in danger of being sucked into the relegation zone (Wigan 7/2 To Be Relegated).

Liverpool will take fourth spot if they come away with victory but Benitez has warned his players to expect a difficult night.

“The Premier League is always physical and they will want to keep going in this way,” he said. “It depends on the referees in the end. We have to analyse this carefully because it’s true we have too many serious injuries.”

He added: “I am a little bit worried about this, but there are people at the top who have to decide and to analyse what is best for the game.”

England right-back Glen Johnson, who has been out since the end of December because of a knee injury, could make his return.

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Jack Collison has called on his Welsh compatriots to qualify for Euro 2012 ahead of their friendly against Sweden (11/10 to beat Wales in the 90 minute betting) on Wednesday night.

The West Ham midfielder believes the game against the Swedes is a good opportunity for Wales’ promising young squad to show they can compete with the top European nations ahead of the start of qualifying for Euro 2012.

John Toshack’s team have been put in Group G alongside England (2/7 to win the group), Switzerland (5/1), Bulgaria (8/1) and Montenegro (33/1) and are 16/1 with totesport.com to qualify for the tournament after the tough draw.

With Simon Church (15/2 first goalscorer against Sweden), Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Chris Gunther and Wayne Hennessey all likely to be prominent in Wales qualifying campaign the future of Welsh football looks bright.

However, Collison believes that now is the time for the Wales squad to deliver and believes the game against the Sweden will serve as a good litmus test to see how far the squad might go.

“We’ve a lot of a good young players who have come through together and there has been a lot of talk about this good group,” said Collison.

“It is about time to start showing it - and we have a great opportunity for us on Wednesday before we start the qualifiers.”

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Hibernian striker Anthony Stokes has been called up by Republic of Ireland for the injured Robbie Keane for Tuesday’s international friendly against Brazil at Emirates Stadium (Republic of Ireland 9/2 draw 5/2 Brazil 8/15 - match betting).

On-loan striker Keane aggravated a knee injury in Celtic’s defeat by Rangers on Sunday and pulled out of the squad later that night.

Republic manager Giovanni Trapattoni could give Portsmouth’s Marc Wilson and Manchester City’s Greg Cunningham their debuts, while experienced pair Richard Dunne and Damien Duff both played on Sunday.

Dunne was part of the Aston Villa side that lost to Manchester United in the Carling Cup final on a heavy Wembley pitch, while Fulham winger Duff played in the goalless draw at Sunderland.

Wigan’s James McCarthy (16/1 First and Last Goalscorer) did not train on Sunday because of an ankle injury but he remains in line to win a first cap after refusing to switch allegiance to his native Scotland.

“Scotland never chose me. I wasn’t good enough,” said McCarthy on Sunday.

“Ireland picked me in their (youth) squads. Sean McCaffrey picked me in those squads and I was delighted and all my family are happy with it.”

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Carling Cup hero Wayne Rooney is a doubt for the international friendly against Egypt on Wednesday (England 3/10 draw 16/5 Egypt 8/1 - match betting) because of a knee injury, according to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The red-hot England striker took his goals tally to 28 in all competitions (Rooney 3/10 Premier League Top Goalscorer) this season with a winning header in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday.

The 24-year-old was introduced from the substitutes’ bench just before half-time for the injured Michael Owen, who now faces three weeks out because of a hamstring injury, and Ferguson revealed Rooney had been playing with some discomfort for a few weeks.

“He got a whack right away,” Ferguson said. “He has been complaining about that for a few weeks and I thought we might have to take him off.

“The doctors are assessing it. I don’t know what England are going to do.”

England manager Fabio Capello is expected to make a decision on Rooney’s availability for Wednesday’s visit of the African Nations Cup winners in the next 24 hours.

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Brian McClennan has said reigning champions Leeds Rhinos intend to do the Super League proud when they take on Melbourne Storm in Sunday’s showdown at Elland Road (Leeds Rhinos 6/5 draw 16/1 Melbourne Storm 4/6 - match betting).

The three-time Super League champions will tomorrow attempt to match the feat of Wigan and Bradford and win the Gillette World Club Challenge for the third time (Leeds +2 10/11 tie 16/1 Melbourne Storm -2 10/11 - handicap betting).

McClennan, who will be missing without winger Scott Donald because of a shoulder injury, has described the occasion as the biggest in the club’s history and is confident his players will put aside their stuttering start to the domestic campaign with a performance against the Storm.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for both our clubs,” McClennan said.

“We want to perform well for Super League and we’re calling on supporters of other clubs to support us too.

“We want to do Super League proud against the best side the NRL have produced in quite a few decades. They’re a team that is evolving the game of rugby league very quickly.

“It’s certainly the biggest challenge we’ve had as a club.”

Melbourne have five players left from the side beaten 11-4 by Leeds in 2008 but will be without forwards Brett White and Sika Manu, new signing Chase Stanley and scrum-half Cooper Cronk.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he is considering resting red-hot striker Wayne Rooney for the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday (Aston Villa 16/5 draw 12/5 Man United 20/23 - match betting).

England international Rooney (6/5 Anytine Scorer) has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season and is now just 15 short of the total chalked up by Cristiano Ronaldo in United’s 2008 Champions League-winning season.

Ferguson described the 24-year-old as “world class” in the wake of his Champions League double over AC Milan.

However, with important games coming up, including the return leg against Milan and crucial Premier League games, the Scot has hinted he may wrap Rooney in cotton wool.

“It has to be a consideration simply because we have important games coming up,” said the United boss.

“The problem is he is desperate to play, he is always desperate to play.”

Ferguson joked: “Maybe it is his chance to play right-back because he keeps telling everyone he is a great defender, centre-half or sweeper.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson has told his Manchester United players the only way they will enjoy Wembley on Sunday is by winning the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa (Aston Villa 16/5 draw 12/5 Man United 20/23 - match betting).

The Scot has stressed his players must not get caught up in the emotion of the day when they compete in their fourth League Cup final in eight years - and their third in five – against Martin O’Neill’s Champions League hopefuls.

Villa famously prevented United from winning a domestic treble in 1994 when they recorded a 3-1 win (33/1 Correct Score) under the stewardship of former Old Trafford boss Ron Atkinson.

This time around. Ferguson knows Sunday is an ideal opportunity to put an another trophy on the shelf and insists winning – not the occasion – is all that matters.

“Wembley is an occasion. It has always been that way,” said Ferguson.

“But the only way you can enjoy Wembley is by winning. We have got an opportunity to win something on Sunday. It is not a nice day when you lose.”

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Wayne Bridge will have no problem facing Chelsea and John Terry when Manchester City travel to take on the Premier League leaders on Saturday, according to team-mate Shay Given (Chelsea 4/9 draw 11/4 Man City 11/2 - match betting).

City full-back Bridge announced on Thursday he did not wish to be considered for England’s World Cup squad because he felt his presence would be “untenable and potentially divisive” in the wake of allegations about former Stamford Bridge team-mate Terry and his ex-partner Vanessa Perroncel.

Terry, who who stripped of the captaincy by Fabio Capello, will come face-to-face with Bridge for the first time on Saturday since his private life hit the front pages.

Given says Bridge (40/1 First and Last Goalscorer) will handle the situation and is in no doubt his focus will be on the job of returning City to winning ways following their FA Cup exit.

“He’s fine and he’s looking forward to the game and hopefully getting a good result,” said Given.

“It’s a massive game for everyone at the club, including Wayne. Shaun Wright-Phillips is going back to his old club as well and they are both looking forward to it.”

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Fabio Capello has confirmed that England (11/2 in the outright betting) will be based at Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus, near Rustenberg, during the World Cup, despite facilities not yet being complete.

The Three Lions boss has been impressed each time he has visited the complex at Phokeng and, having been given assurances from officials it will be ready in time, England will use it as a base throughout their time in South Africa.

I’m really happy. We checked everything and it improved a lot from the last time we stayed here,” Capello said.

“The pitches are good and will be better for June. The pitches and the centre we choose will be very important for us.

“The hotel is really, really nice and the medical centre will be ready in two months. I’m really, really happy because it’s the third time I’ve stayed here and the facilities are fantastic.

“We visited four different places and this was the best.”

England open their campaign on June 12 with an evening kick-off against USA and are 1/2 in the early match betting, with the Americans available at 9/2 and the draw at 11/4.

Capello’s men also line up alongside Slovenia and Algeria in Group C but are fancied to top the group at 1/3, with USA next best at 4/1, while England are a strong 1/14 to make it through to the knockout stages.