Frontline challenge

MANCHESTER City will hope to put all their backroom turmoil aside as they set out to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Cup tonight.

With owner Thaksin Shinawatra seeking refuge in Britain after skipping a court hearing in Bangkok and his £800 million of his assets frozen by the Thai government, the dream which looked so realistic for the ever—suffering City fans 12 months ago, has again turned sour.

City chief Mark Hughes already has enough worries of his own with at least four of his first team players set to miss tonight’s first leg at home Midtjylland, from Denmark.

Pacy striker Darius Vassell will be out for up to three months after limping off with a knee problem during the 1-0 win over AC Milan at the weekend and Benjani still recovering from injury,.

Also, with £19m striker Jo representing Brazil at the Olympic Games, Hughes’ attacking options are limited.

On a positive note, Micah Richards has recovered from the knock he picked up in Saturday’s friendly and will again form a strong partnership at in the middle of the defence with new signing Ben Haim in preparation for their opening-day clash with Aston Villa, as Richard Dunne will be suspended.

Valeri Bojinov will continue his return from his year-long injury hell after scoring the game’s only goal against Milan with a ferocious left-foot strike.

Youngster Daniel Sturridge is set to pair up with the Bulgarian in attack after impressing Hughes with some confident displays in pre-season, and 19-year-old Wales international Ched Evans may also feature after a string of some strong displays, which included a goal in the friendly against Stockport.

Midtjylland will be at full strength with their main threat coming in the form of last season’s leading scorer Frank Kristensen, who hit 12 league goals in their last campaign.

City must be also wary of captain Claus Madsen and Jonas Borring in midfield.

The visitors will be no walk over. After a successful season in which they overcame past Manchester United conquerers FC Copenhagen to finish runners-up in the Danish Super League, they will be looking to try to pile more misery on the City supporters.