Chris Smalling has a chance of playing in Portugal on Wednesday night as Manchester United try to seal Champions League qualification with four straight wins for the first time since they won the competition in 2008.

The defender has not played since injuring a metatarsal in pre-season training, but has travelled with the squad and Sir Alex Ferguson has promised he will be involved. Phil Jones is also ready to start training next week so United's injury problems in defence are beginning to clear, so much so that Ferguson could be tempted to rest senior defenders such as Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. He is already resting a senior midfielder in Paul Scholes, 38, who has stayed at home. "We want to keep him fresh for later in the season. At his age he can't play all the time, so we are just taking care of an old man."

Ferguson is pleased to see light on the defensive front. "Since the start of the season we've been operating on the borderline in that area, playing Michael Carrick at centre-half and so on, so it's good to get back up to strength. We will be stronger as a unit with Smalling and Jones back but I am pleased with the attacking part too, you can feel there are goals in the team again.

"I misread the group stage last season but have been picking stronger teams this time, because you must reach the next stage," Ferguson said. Once you do, there are some outstanding opponents waiting for you, so you have to be able to perform at a really high level, and you have to be able to score goals.

"Most people will have Barcelona and Real Madrid among their favourites but this season I have also been impressed with Borussia Dortmund. I think their campaign this season will be all about the Champions League, if you look at the Bundesliga they are a long way behind Bayern Munich and it looks to me like they are going all out for Europe. Those three teams all have outstanding chances, and I just hope we can join them."

The United manager has just celebrated 26 years with the club, and when Uefa began tinkering with their major tournament in his first decade he was not happy about it, believing extra teams and extra games made it harder to succeed in Europe if you still wanted to win your domestic title. Now the Champions League has settled down to a format most people judge to be exciting and entertaining, and clubs have acquired squads big enough to cope with the extra demands, Ferguson is a complete convert "You would have to say now that the transition from a knockout to a league has made it more appealing," he said. "It is a fantastic tournament now, the opportunity to regularly play against the best has made it better."

Braga probable Beto; Salino, Coelho, Douglão, Elderson; Custódio, Viana; Alan, Micael, Amorim; Eder. Man Utd probable Lindegaard; Da Silva, Evans, Smalling, Büttner: Nani, Carrick, Anderson, Young; Rooney, Hernández.

Referee F Brych (Ger)