With first-choice strikers Nihat Kahveci and former Manchester United star Giuseppe Rossi injured, Pellegrini had been expected to adopt safety-first tactics against Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

The tactic has worked at Old Trafford before; three years ago Villarreal held out for a draw which helped them go through to the knockout stages as United crashed out at the first hurdle.

However, while Pellegrini is still to decide his starting line-up, he does not want to be defensive.

"We will try to win," he said.

"It is going to be difficult because Manchester United are a great team but if we are at our best we have a chance.

"The most important thing is not to change our style. We must concentrate on ourselves, rather than worry about what they are going to do."

Had Marcos Senna's career taken a different direction, he could have been starring for the home side.

The 32-year-old midfielder came to Ferguson's attention in the wake of that dismal European failure.

Ferguson approached Villarreal, only to discover Senna did not want to leave.

"There was contact," Senna confirmed.

"United spoke to the club and to my agent but I decided to stay with Villarreal, just as I did this summer when someone else was interested."

Like his manager, Senna feels Villarreal can come away with a positive result, although he would prefer it if Ferguson left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for his comeback.

"Manchester United have a lot of top class players, so in some senses they will be extremely difficult to beat no matter who is in their side," he said.

"But you cannot avoid the fact Ronaldo is one of the best in the world.

"He scored an incredible number of goals last season, so it would be fair to say he would present us with far more problems than the other players in United's team."