Gloves are off in Moscow for Fergie's men

Stan James agrees with Sir Alex Ferguson's belief that CSKA Moscow's artificial surface should hold no fears for Manchester United (6/5 favourites in Match betting) in tonight's Champions League Group B tie.

United make their first return to the chilly Russian capital since beating Chelsea on penalties to lift the Champions League 17 months ago.

Stan James' novelty market on the match concerns the number of United players wearing gloves with over 2.5 players available at 5/6 and the same price for under 2.5 players sporting gloves.

Dimitar Berbatov is one Red Devils star who has been known to keep his fingers warm in the past but another, Patrice Evra, is one of five big name players missing for United.

Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung also stayed at home, but with United top of the group with maximum points so far, Ferguson can afford to drop points without catastrophic repercussions. CSKA (12/5 for victory in match betting) are just behind Wolfsburg on goal difference and know a draw (9/4) may not be enough to put them on course for progression to the knock-out phase.