© Reuters: Following is a Q&A on how Manchester United might trump Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final at London's Wembley stadium:
Q. How should United start the match?
A. It will be crucial for Alex Ferguson's players to prevent Barca getting into their passing rhythm early, a task at which Real Madrid achieved partial success in some of the recent "Clasicos" when they came flying at Barca from the off.
United's midfielders and forwards will have to work like trojans to prevent Barca building from the back.
They will need to cut off outlets for goalkeeper Victor Valdes, close down the defenders and, above all, starve playmaker Xavi and his midfield partners Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta of possession.
Pushing up on Barca will also help prevent mobile fullbacks Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal getting forward and blunt one of the Catalan club's most potent weapons.
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Q. What should United do with the ball when they get it?
A. The English champions will almost certainly spend a lot of time chasing the ball but once they do get hold of it, they must get it to their pacy forwards as quickly as possible.
In Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, United have exactly the type of players who can hurt Barca, whose likely central defensive pairing of captain Carles Puyol and former United player Gerard Pique are not the quickest in the game.
They have both been exposed this season by strong, swift attackers and once beaten lack the pace to get back and clear the danger. However, in Victor Valdes, Barca have one of the most effective performers around at dealing with one-on-one situations.
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Q. How on earth do you stop Messi?
A. The short answer is you can't. The World Player of the Year is just too fast and skillful so the key is to try as far as possible to prevent him getting the ball in the first place.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho converted centre back Pepe into a roving defensive midfielder for their recent matches against Barca and he was extremely effective at stopping their midfielders from finding Messi.
He also put in some robust challenges on the Argentina forward and United could task Michael Carrick or Park Ji-Sung with similar duties on Saturday.
It was no coincidence that in the semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu Messi's two goals came only after Pepe had been sent off.
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Q. Is it worth man-marking Xavi?
A. The Spain playmaker is a master at picking up the ball in tight central spaces, twisting and turning out of trouble and finding a killer pass that releases a team mate into a goal-scoring position.
However, there have been games in La Liga where opposing coaches have instructed a player to man-mark him and he has admitted that he doesn't like it.
Park would probably be best-suited among United's players for the job and his energy and bite could be enough to throw Xavi off his stride, a development that would certainly improve United's chances.
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Q. Are Barca susceptible under the high ball?
A. Barcelona have tightened up in defence this season mainly by extending their domination of possession which allows them to control the tempo of matches.
Corners and freekicks are one of the few occasions they cannot control what is happening and they have sometimes proved vulnerable in the air, especially if captain Puyol is not playing. Valdes is not always comfortable coming for crosses.
The relatively short Javier Mascherano, if he has to fill in at the back, and Alves are not strong under the high ball.
When United get the chance to break quickly, lofted passes to the back post could catch Barca on the hop, as was demonstrated in the King's Cup final when Cristiano Ronaldo outjumped Adriano to head the dramatic winning goal.
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