Vidic vital to Utd beating Barcelona.

Often the unsung hero of football teams is the solid centre back who puts himself in front of everything for the sake of the team.

For Manchester United this is Nemanja Vidic who is an old fashioned no-nonsense centre back. When partnered with Rio Ferdinand they compliment each other perfectly with Ferdinand having a bit more class with the ball. For me Vidic is more important to have in the team than Ferdinand and if English would be my number 1 choice for the national team.

Looking at the stats this season, out of the 31 league games that Vidic has played Man Utd have kept clean sheets in 19 of those. Of the 5 missed in this years league campaign Man Utd have only managed to keep a clean sheet in 1 of those fixtures, against Fulham away. The others teams were Aston Villa (1), Bolton (1), Middlesborough (2) and Arsenal (1).

This seasons team of the year contained 3 players, Vidic along with Ferdinand and the impressive Ronaldo. The Reds look shaky at times when Ferdinand or Vidic are injured but more so when its Vidic. With a draw a bad result, barring a 0-0, Utd really need a clean sheet and Vidic is vital to this.

Whilst it is likely that Ronaldo, Rooney or Tevez could win the game Vidic being fit to play could be the deciding factor in the Red Devils pursuit of the Champions League.