Manchester United and Portsmouth face malaria concerns ahead of their trip to Nigeria.

The Sun says United and Portsmouth must cover up at night and take malaria tablets after Kolo Toure was hit with the disease.

The Arsenal centre-back, 27, was bitten by a mosquito in his native Ivory Coast.

United play Pompey in a friendly in Nigeria on Sunday.

Manchester United are ready to use Louis Saha as bait to land Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz.

The News of the World says United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sees Santa Cruz as the striker who can offer him the target-man alternative to his array of attacking talent.

And United will throw in Frenchman Saha, whose injury problems have prevented him from making his mark at Old Trafford. The 29-year-old will be the makeweight in a £10million transfer.

United will offer Santa Cruz a bumper £75,000 a week contract - plus bonuses - to take him to Old Trafford.

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed striker Louis Saha is out of this week's Champions League quarterfinal against Roma.

Saha will miss the tie - the winners face either Barcelona or Schalke in the semi-finals - as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Manchester United striker Louis Saha is hoping to repay the faith Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, has shown in him by overcoming his injury problems and scoring goals consistently.

"My target is to stay fit and keep finding the back of the net," the striker said.

Manchester United insist striker Louis Saha is not out for the rest of the season - and will be back from injury sooner rather than later.

There has been speculation the Frenchman is out for the remainder of the season with knee ligament damage.

However, chief executive David Gill has dismissed that suggestion.

"He only has a slight knock, " Gill told Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme. "He is not going to be out for the rest of the season - I know that for a fact."

Saha has been troubled by a series of injuries since his £12.8million move to Old Trafford from Fulham in 2004.

He had knee surgery in the summer and has scored four goals so far this season.

Manchester United striker Louis Saha has reiterated that he has never refused to play for the club.

Saha has started just two games in the Premier League this season, having been hampered by a knee injury. It has previously been claimed that the France international has declined to play for United due to a mental block regarding his fitness.

But, explaining his injury troubles, Saha insists that he has always been willing to turn out for the champions when fit.

"At United, I have had an incredible amount of bad luck," said Saha in the Daily Mail. "But that does not explain everything. Playing all the time takes its toll on the body. My game is based on speed, quick movements and changes of direction. It's very demanding for the body.

"For a long time, I had an injury on my left knee. I changed the way I ran and I injured my right knee. But I never refused to play. Everytime I missed a game I was not able to play. For sure, before playing again, I was a bit anxious. Every player feels that. But it did not go further than that.

"People are ill-informed. I had six pieces of cartilage in my knee. Can you say this is psychological?

"Sometimes I would take part in training during the week and feel good and then drop out at the weekend. But you can explain that easily. My knee could support short training exercises, but not the intensity of a game. Should I have played without being 100 per cent fit? That would have been ridiculous."

Manchester United striker Louis Saha is desperate to start Sunday's clash at Liverpool.
"Without doubt, it is the most intense atmosphere for a Manchester United player," he said. "I have played there a few times now but the win we had there last season was amazing. That is one of the greatest feelings I have ever had as a footballer.

"My main memory of last season is that the win at Liverpool kick-started us towards the title. It proved we were strong enough.

"We are going there much earlier in the season this time and there is still a long road ahead. But it does give us a chance to show exactly how good we are."

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has already stressed total faith in the Frenchman to recover from the long-standing knee problems that have plagued his time at Old Trafford.

"What the manager said is very good for my confidence," he said. "But I put myself under massive pressure all the time and I don't really need anyone else to do that for me. I always work hard and every game is a positive step for me now.

A much-changed Manchester United side earned a draw against Italian giants Roma to protect their unbeaten record in the Champions League this season.

With United already having won Group F and Roma having qualified in second place the game had an eerie start, with the opening 20 minutes dreadfully apathetic.

David Pizarro tried to rid the match of its lethargy by shooting from 25 yards, but Tomasz Kuszczak dived away to his left to make a fairly routine save.

At the other end, United's youthful side fashioned their first opening when Wayne Rooney clipped in a cross from the right and Doni had to be alert to tip over John O'Shea's looping header.

Just after Mauro Esposito missed a golden chance with a close-range header for Roma, United took the lead. The otherwise quiet Nani swung in a corner from the left and Pique sneaked in unchallenged six yards out to plant a header past Doni.

The goal prompted a Roma rally as Mancini raised a shot from close-range on to the bar, Mauro Esposito headed the rebound over and then Mancini saw another effort parried away by Kuszczak.

The game was still being played at not much more than walking pace, but at least chances were being created. United nearly doubled their lead after the interval when Chris Eagles helped another Nani corner goalwards, but a combination of Philippe Mexes and Doni managed to get the ball clear.

Roma brought on Ludovic Giuly and Vucinic to chase the game and after Saha was denied by a fine Doni save, they pulled level. Vucinic slotted the ball through to Mancini on the edge of the box and he neatly came inside and whipped his shot past the despairing dive of Kuszczak. Vucinic was having a stunning impact on proceedings and the Montenegro striker rifled a shot against the foot of the post moments later.

Man Utd: Kuszczak, Simpson, Pique, Evans, O'Shea (Brown 54), Eagles, Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Saha, Rooney (Dong 71).
Subs Not Used: Heaton, Lee, Hewson, Brandy, Eckersley.

Manchester United overcame Derby's resilience to move within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Derby's lack of a serious attacking threat was always going to limit their hopes of upsetting the champions. And United's midfield, which included Michael Carrick as a late replacement after Owen Hargreaves was injured in the warm-up, gradually took a grip on the game.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men still had to wait until the 40th minute to take the lead through Giggs' opportunistic strike but they quickly had the game sewn up. After Rooney had hit the post with a cheeky chip, Tevez added a second goal - firing home at the second attempt when Ronaldo's free-kick was not properly cleared.

Derby did not give up and Giles Barnes' shot gave United keeper Edwin van der Sar problems before Claude Davis tried his luck with an acrobatic effort from the resulting corner.

United were still looking dangerous though, and Giggs hit the post with a volley from Wes Brown's cross before Tevez made it 3-0 with a powerful finish.

Howard got on the end of Tyrone Mears' cross to pull a goal back for the Rams but it was United who had the last word. Ronaldo, who was booked for diving against Fulham earlier in the week, tumbled in the area under challenge from Mears and got up to convert the spot-kick for his 14th goal of the season.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand (O'Shea 71), Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson (Fletcher 62), Giggs (Saha 64), Rooney, Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani.