Manchester United will take on FC Porto at Old Trafford on April 6 as the club looks to become the first to successfully defend its Champions League crown.

Manager Alex Ferguson will be boosted by the return of Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Ji-sung Park, who missed United's Premier League clash against Aston Villa at the weekend.

United will enter the fray on the back of an important win that saw them restored on the top of the league, but concentration how has to be funneled towards Europe.

Rio Ferdinand and Anderson are both unlikely to be fit in time for action, however, as the fixture appears to be too soon for either player, still recovering from injuries suffered whilst on international duty.

"I don't think any of the injured players will be back against Porto," Ferguson told the clubs website. "But we do have the suspended players back which is good."

"Vidic will play alongside Jonny Evans at the back with John O'Shea moving to right-back. Rooney and Scholes are also available which will give us a bit more penetration and experience, and Ji-sung Park will also be ready so I've got some good options for Tuesday."

Porto, meanwhile, are travelling to England hoping to steal an away goal that would help them cause an upset over the course of two legs. United are by far pegged as the favourites in this encounter, but at this stage of the tournament it would be hard to find the "perfect" or "easy" opponent.

The Portuguese side have managed the feat before in 2004, under Jose Mourinho, when Porto surprised pundits by eliminating United on their way to lift the trophy for the second time in the club's history. After Mourinho left for Chelsea, the Portuguese side has never reached the same heights again.

This season's quarterfinal is the furthest the club has progressed in the Champions League since winning the trophy, but former Algerian forward Rabah Madjer, who scored the first of the two goals that gave Porto its first Champions Cup trophy in 1987.

"Anything is possible," Madjer, a cult figure at Porto, told uefa.com "Porto won in 1987, and then again in 2004. Porto are a serious club, one of the biggest in Europe; they've proved themselves. They have their objectives, just like Manchester United or Chelsea".