Manchester United have left themselves a monumental task to reach the Champions League final. I'd say next week's game in Leverkusen might be the biggest managerial test Sir Alex Ferguson has faced during his time at Old Trafford in terms of selection and game plan.

After Wednesday's 2-2 draw he has to get personnel and approach spot on. United will need a performance as good as, if not better than, anything they've produced in the last three years to make it to Hampden Park.

They are capable of it, particularly with Roy Keane set to play, though I'd be more convinced if David Beckham, Gary Neville and Ronny Johnsen were fit. But United must find a better shape and, in that regard, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Nicky Butt can be important.

Alex has tended to avoid fielding two front-line strikers in Europe but on this occasion I feel he should pair Solskjaer with Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Norwegian is a master at snaffling goals and Van Nistelrooy needs support.

On Wednesday the Dutchman was making channel runs and having to wait for the cavalry to arrive. United have to make sure when they go forward next week there are plenty of options. I think they'd be better off using Ryan Giggs on the left than in a free role.

He tried hard to get at Leverkusen but it didn't quite come off. By and large when he's flourished in that position United have had natural width on at least one flank. Generally it's been through Beckham, though Quinton Fortune started at Chelsea last weekend.

This time there was none of that, with Juan Sebastian Veron and Solskjaer the widest midfielders. If Giggs reverts to the left he'll give the team better passing angles while still getting involved down the middle. United were reduced to hitting a lot of long balls.

On the right, assuming Keane is back, I'd use Butt rather than Veron. I'm a great admirer of the Argentinian but he's not at his best there. He didn't quite know where he was playing against Leverkusen and became very indisciplined, running here, there and everywhere.

He was trying to get into the middle to get more involved but that left United struggling when they lost the ball because Leverkusen are strong on the left with Ze Roberto and Diego Placente.

Butt could counter that and behind him at right-back I'd field Denis Irwin, who has the know-how for this sort of occasion. They can put some blocks up on that flank while Giggs can be flying down the other.

United could choose to be cautious for an hour and then go at Leverkusen but they're at their best when they impose themselves on opponents and I think they need to do that. Leverkusen are not as good defensively as coming forward and United have to look to exploit any weaknesses.

If they play it tight and again let Leverkusen get bedded down to dictate the tempo and flow they'll get picked off. I'd try to get it into the players' heads that they need to treat it like a home game and press, squeeze and get on top of the Germans.

Keane's fitness is so important in that respect. If he rejoins Butt and Paul Scholes Leverkusen won't have nearly as much time on the ball. United have to be snapping at heels and those three terriers will do that.

At the back United will clearly have to tighten up against a team who scored four at home to Liverpool and three against Deportivo La Coruna. I thought Laurent Blanc held the defence together on Wednesday. But Wes Brown will need to be more competitive.

He didn't make nearly enough challenges in the air or on the deck for a top-class centre-half. He has to win more ball and it was notable that Yildiray Basturk went past him at times without anything laid on him.

That's where United missed Johnsen, who's more aggressive. Basturk was dropping off the front, picking things up and coming at them. Johnsen would have contested more and not allowed them the same freedom close to goal.

What could help United is that Leverkusen might not quite know how to play because a draw would be good enough. They've beaten some good teams on their own ground but they've been games they've had to win.

Definitely in United's favour is that they've pulled things out of the fire before, notably the semi-final against Juventus in 1999. After a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford they went 2-0 down in Turin in the first 10 minutes but fought back to win 3-2.

To achieve something similar Alex will need to get everything right. And I think that means using Butt on the right, Solskjaer up front and being positive from the start.

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