Age and guile, wrote P.J. O'Rourke, beat youth, innocence and a bad haircut. This theory is to be tested to the full in Moscow this evening. In the blue corner, age and guile, as represented by Chelsea's midfield trio of Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, with its compelling blend of physical strength and cunning; in the red, youth and innocence, as championed by Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager who regards the naivety in his forward line, which most see as a weakness, as Manchester United's greatest strength.

Looking more relaxed than any man has a right to be in the circumstances, Ferguson's faith was unshakeable as he spoke of a team some believe may be vulnerable to a robust Chelsea game plan that has restricted United to two wins in their past 14 meetings. It could be that Chelsea are scheming to break a butterfly on a wheel again, the imposing presence of Ballack and Lampard and the thinking-man's battering ram that is Didier Drogba, the forward, the key elements in a clash of styles suited to a city in which East meets West, and pays through the nose for the privilege.

Whenever Ferguson is questioned on the inexperience of his team, his reply is a homily to the energy, bravery and indefatigability of youth and a little bit of smoke and mirrors to disguise the fact that it is only his front three, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tévez, who are truly green. His back four is very experienced, as is his midfield, although it lacks Chelsea's power. Ferguson believes, therefore, that, far from freezing in Moscow, as so many have done, it is the freshness of his team that will enable them to attack the match, and the opposition, without hesitation, while supported by old heads.

“All along I have been saying we have the temperament for this,” Ferguson said. “Youth is our greatest quality. I trust my players to perform properly. I have no worry that they will. When I was a kid we used to climb steeples and churches for pigeons, jump off bridges and all the rest of it. Now I'm older I go more than two storeys high and I get bloody vertigo. That's what age does to you. When you're young, you're fearless, so I hope my young ones will play like that.

“They haven't struggled on previous occasions and, yes, it is different being a final, but I don't expect them to be intimidated. They have not got the overall experience in terms of age, but they have nerve and courage and I have no doubt they can do it. Chelsea are a physically stronger team, but there is no need to match that and we shouldn't even go down that path. There are other ways we can win.”

The antecedent for a United triumph would be the success of Ajax under Louis van Gaal in 1995, with a team that included Edwin van der Sar, who is now Ferguson's goalkeeper. Van der Sar, 24 at the time, was one of the more experienced members of a team whose average age was 23. If Ferguson goes with Owen Hargreaves ahead of Anderson, and Tévez ahead of Park Ji Sung, the average age of United's team will be 27.

The youth is in the front line, however, and it is to this that Ferguson was surely referring when he invoked Ajax's win over AC Milan. “They were a young team,” he said. “It shows what you can do with young players. I've told my lads, ‘Once you get to the final, the opportunity is there.' Fearlessness is the key, as much as ability. It doesn't matter what sort of game it is if you have the right attitude.”

Clearly enjoying the fourth European final of his managerial career, Ferguson was in good form. Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, could have done without following his opponent on to the podium at the Luzhniki Stadium. It was not that Grant lacked serenity, more that Ferguson, despite his composure, always conveys an edge, an excitement that is reflected in his team, whereas even when asked about the inspirational portraits he keeps on his office wall, Grant mumbled his lines. For the record, he looks to, and at, leaders such as Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Anwar Sadat and sportsmen such as Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

Unfortunately, he imbued this revelation with so little emotion that he may as well have reeled off Mike and Bernie Winters, Cherie Blair, Champion the Wonder Horse and the Grumbleweeds. It is not his fault. If attempting to instil Grant with gravitas on the eve of the biggest match in the club's history was a Chelsea PR exercise, they should have left well alone. He needs to be his own man and the club must accept that if there is to be a battle cry, it will not be sounded by him.

John Terry, the captain, and Lampard are a better representation of what Chelsea will be about this evening. Tall, imposing figures who will seek to dominate United, as they have on several occasions over the past four years, most impressively when winning the 2005-06 league title with a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. “We are a strong team because we can mix it,” Terry said. “We can play football on a par with the best in the world and then, when it is called for, put our bodies on the line.”

The perfect Chelsea performance would take in the superb exchange of passes that brought the second goal away to Newcastle United this month and the resilience that was on display when overcoming Liverpool at the semi-final stage. Lampard singled out Makelele for praise and it is true that United do not work with such a dedicated holding midfield player, which could prove to be a flaw.

“He is one of the best in the world and has been for some time,” Lampard said. “What he gives on and off the field in terms of ability and experience is exceptional and for an attacking midfield player he is a dream.”

Guarding the shop for United will be Hargreaves, who goes forward more than Makelele, plus Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, who are outstanding playmakers but lack the zest of Lampard and Ballack. It is here that Chelsea will seek to score points. On form, United have a small advantage in defence, but Ferguson has the better forward line. It will be tight. With a 10.45pm kick-off local time, the final will be played over two days anyway and do not rule out Champions League football still taking place in Moscow past 1.30am tomorrow.

Can you afford to worry about how you win, Ferguson was asked, or is just winning the thing? He thought for a while. “Winning is important, but skill is what we do,” he said. He wasn't even trying. He just pulls them out like that. Really, he does.