Manchester United's coach, Alex Ferguson. - Reuters

ROME (AP):

MANCHESTER UNITED manager Alex Ferguson is not about to allow AS Roma to do what they did to Lyon against his team.

Roma held Lyon to a scoreless draw at home in the first leg and then eliminated the favoured French champions with a 2-0 win on the road in the second round of the Champions League.

United visit Roma today for the opening leg of the quarter-finals in the first ever meeting between the two clubs.

"I watched a video of the Lyon game in Rome and I thought Lyon were the better team," Ferguson said yesterday. "But 0-0 is a very dangerous result and you saw the result of the game in Lyon. I think we have to score tomorrow."

While Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney's combined 28 goals have vaulted United into the Premier League lead, neither has found the net in the Champions League this season.

"We haven't scored a lot of goals in Europe the last two years. I think it's a matter of adapting to European football," Ferguson said.

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti sees similarities between Lyon and United.

"They don't pay as much attention to defence, and when they have a possibility to score they hurry," Spalletti said. "I think we can create some problems for them."

Flair

The game pits two of the players with the most flair in Europe - Ronaldo and Roma captain Francesco Totti.

"I think Ronaldo at the moment is the best player in the world, and he's also very young," Ferguson said.

Italian media have played up a week-old quote in which Ferguson reportedly left out Totti on a list of Roma players he's worried about.

"To be honest I can't even remember the nature of it," Ferguson said. "If you think we prepare for games without discussing all the important players, well we do, and of course Totti is a very important member of their team."

Totti is devoting all his energy to Roma this season, staying off Italy's national team until the metal rod and screws holding his surgically repaired left ankle together are removed in the offseason. He leads Serie A with 18 goals.

"It seems strange that Ferguson said that, with his experience," Spalletti said. "What bothers me, though, is hearing that our fans are violent, when what they are is passionate and well behaved."

Warning

Manchester United posted a notice on their website warning their fans travelling to the game to avoid certain areas of the city and not to use the city's metro because "there is a real danger of being attacked by the 'Ultra' fans of AS Roma".

Roma have never won a European title and are playing in the quarter-finals for the first time since the tournament was renamed the Champions League in 1992. The last time the Giallorossi advanced to the last eight of the European Cup they went all the way to the final in 1984 - losing to Liverpool on penalties.

For Roma, this is the biggest European match since that 1984 final.

"We're entering in just the right form," Totti said. "Getting to this point after so many years is a great accomplishment. But we shouldn't stop ourselves here."

United defender Nemanja Vidic broke his collarbone in the 4-1 win over Blackburn on Saturday. With captain Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre also sidelined withinjury, Wes Brown is likely to join Rio Ferdinand in central defence with the job of containing Totti.

South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung was left off United's roster with a knee injury, while Louis Saha and Darren Fletcher were surprise inclusions.