Graphic: Dynamo Kiev v Manchester United

For a team with designs on winning the Champions League, progression from the group stage of the competition has been a rather more fraught experience in recent seasons than Sir Alex Ferguson would have liked, which might help to explain why the Manchester United manager appears so anxious to ensure that qualification is all but wrapped up by the time this evening’s hosts visit Old Trafford in just over a fortnight.

Eastern Europe has proved something of a graveyard for British football over the past week, with England having lost in Russia and Scotland in Georgia in their respective European Championship qualifying ties.

But while United will expect to record their third successive group victory by overcoming Dynamo Kiev at the Olympiyskiy Stadium, Ferguson is well aware that his team have shown a capacity for making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves at this stage of their previous two European campaigns.

Having won their opening three group games last season, United proceeded to lose their next two, away to FC Copenhagen and Celtic, leaving Ferguson, on the eve of their final match against Benfica at Old Trafford, against whom they needed a point to progress, to declare that qualification “seemed as good as in the bag but suddenly we are under real pressure”.

Despite going a goal behind, United recovered to win 3-1 and went on to reach the semi-finals, but it was against the same opponents that they were eliminated in the final group game the previous season.

On that occasion, United went a goal in front only to lose 2-1 in Lisbon, but with the luxury of home games against Kiev and Sporting Lisbon to follow this one, qualification should be assured long before the Barclays Premier League champions make what would otherwise be a daunting final trip to AS Roma on December 12.

Ferguson, however, is not prepared to take any chances. “The intention will be for us to win the match because the rewards are great,” he said. “We expect Kiev to be really positive about the game and have a go, but we see it as an opportunity for us with the double header against them.”

Kiev are probably the weakest team in group F, having lost their opening two games to Roma and Sporting, but they have only been beaten once on home soil in seven matches by English opposition, against Liverpool six years ago.

Although Nemanja Vidic will return to bolster United’s defence after missing the 4-1 victory over Aston Villa at the weekend with concussion, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick will be missing from the midfield through injury, while the perennially crocked Louis Saha is once again absent, but United should still be too strong for the Ukrainians, especially with Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez beginning to form an impressive understanding.

“We’ve had some fantastic partnerships at the club over the years and most of them took time to develop, apart from [Andrew] Cole and [Dwight] Yorke, who were terrific in their first season together,” Ferguson said. “Wayne and Carlos are both young players and the evidence is good at the moment. Hopefully, in three or four years’ time, we will see something special from them.

“Both have got great attributes as strikers. Courage, speed, ability to beat men, all the things are there and, once you see the maturity, you’ll see greater authority and better timing.”

Manchester United v Dynamo Kiev

Group F

Kick-off: 7.45pm NSC Olympiyskiy Stadium

Key clash: Maksim Shatskikh v Rio Ferdinand

After defeats in their opening two matches, Kiev would appear to be the weakest team in the group, but in the uncompromising surrounds of Ukraine, Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United Manager, will be wary of his team being caught on the counter-attack, with the lively Shatskikh, who scored five times for Uzbekistan against Taiwan recently, likely to ensure that Ferdinand cannot afford one of his momentary lapses in concentration.

Referee: V Kassai (Hungary)

Television: Live on ITV1, from 7.30pm

The FA has confirmed that Wembley could host the Champions League final in 2010 or 2011. The rebuilt stadium has been shortlisted by Uefa alongside four other stadiums - Berlin’s Olympiastadion, the Allianz Arena in Munich, Madrid’s Bernabéu and the Mestalla in Valencia.

A Uefa delegation will visit Wembley before the end of this year with a decision expected in March next year.