Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping to be surprised by his young Manchester United stars at Deportivo La Coruna's Riazor Stadium. Ferguson has opted to leave most of his senior players at home for the Champions League encounter, ahead of Saturday's Premiership clash with Fulham. Ryan Giggs will be the only 'big name' to face the Spaniards in their group game, the Welshman only making the trip because Quinton Fortune is injured. With United through to the last eight as Group D winners and Deportivo already eliminated, the game appears to have 'meaningless' stamped all over it. But Ferguson thinks differently,as he is looking to see if the likes of Jimmy Davis, Mark Lynch and Lee Roche can rise to the occasion as Darren Fletcher did on his debut against FC Basle last week. Ferguson said: "Although a lot of my players don't have too much experience they do have ability. "I always feel young players are capable of surprising you when they get an opportunity. They feel they have a chance of becoming good players at Manchester United and hopefully some of them will do that tonight." It is eight years since Ferguson fielded a then untested trio of David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt in an Old Trafford Champions League group encounter with Galatasaray. All three have gone on to become top-class internationals, and Fletcher suggested he may follow suit with an impressive debut last week. Danny Pugh will fancy his chances of getting his first European start, while Ferguson must decide whether to offer Kieran Richardson another chance after his disappointing performance against the Swiss. With Laurent Blanc, Butt and Phil Neville among the travelling party, United do have a core of experience to call on, although Ferguson admits it is the young players he will be monitoring most closely, particularly as the standard of opposition is far greater than they would experience in their normal League Cup breeding ground. "It doesn't matter what first team game it is, you are always asking questions of a young player when you put them in," he said. "But there is a massive difference between the European Cup and the League Cup, particularly in the tactical and technical part of the game. "We will try to strike a balance between youth and experience but I shall be very interested to see how the young players go." Ferguson has already promised Spanish keeper Ricardo his third Champions League start as a replacement for the rested Fabien Barthez. The £1.5million arrival from Real Valladolid has not been able to put too much pressure on Barthez since his summer move from Spain but he hopes a return to his native land can prove to be an inspiration. "It is an opportunity to establish myself, not only in the team but also with the fans," he said. "I don't feel any extra pressure because the match is in Spain. Touching down at the airport just made my heart beat faster. "A lot of my friends and family will be there so I want to do well for them."
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