Veteran Ryan Giggs is hoping he can recover from a hamstring strain he suffered against Blackburn Rovers on the weekend, and play in his 33rd consecutive Manchester derby. Since making his 1991 debut, Giggs hasn't missed a derby... and he is not about to this time either ! 

Giggs, at 19 years of age, scored a winner in his first Manchester derby, and just recently he also netted against the oil-rich 'noisy neighbours'. He has played in all the 32 derbies since his debut, and is keen to keep the record alive by featuring in Saturday's clash at Eastlands.

The veteran winger suffer a hamstring injury in the 0-0 stalemate away to Blackburn last Sunday, and his place in the team was in serious doubt. But Giggs, 36, holds the hope that he can recover in time, and help The Reds to a much-needed win.

"I just strained my hamstring against Blackburn," Giggs said on Monday. "I felt it in the first 15 to 20 minutes, but the scan hasn't shown much (damage), so hopefully I'll be OK."

United will need to win, if they stand any slim chance of winning the forth League title in a row... "This game was always going to be huge at this time of the season; they're going for fourth place and we're going for the championship. Derby days are always massive anyway, but there's a bit of extra spice to this one," he added.

"We've faced them three times this season and they've all been great games, so hopefully that'll be the case again - with us coming out on top !"