Manchester United must now start to prepare for life without Wayne Rooney after Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the striker wants to leave Old Trafford - but they'll no doubt be keen to send out a positive message against Bursaspor on Wednesday night.

All the rumours and speculation concerning Rooney's future - as well as reports of a fall-out with the Red Devils boss - came to a head at the weekend when he was left out of the starting line-up to face West Brom and the distraction may have contributed to yet another poor result.

The 2-2 draw with the Baggies at Old Trafford, in which United were pegged back after going 2-0 up, was the fifth time they've been held in the Premier League this season and despite remaining unbeaten, they trail leaders Chelsea by five points.

United were also frustrated by Rangers as their opening Champions League group game ended goalless but Javier Hernandez's 85th-minute winner against Valencia a fortnight ago - his first competitive goal for the club - has got their European campaign up and running.

At least Rooney's situation is now out in the open and although attention will now turn to his next club - and United's search for a replacement - we can expect Fergie to fire up his team on Wednesday night go out and prove they are good enough without him.

The England international won't feature against the Turkish outfit due to his ankle injury and with Michael Owen also ruled out, the onus will be on Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov to give the United faithful something to cheer about in this difficult time.

Hernandez is finding his feet at Old Trafford having scored two in his last three appearances and Rooney's absence allows him another opportunity in the spotlight.

In fact both of the Mexican striker's goals have come when Rooney hasn't been on the pitch. Rooney was ruled out injured In Valencia and when Hernandez struck the 5th-minute opener against the Baggies, the 24-year-old was on the bench.

With the hosts no bigger than 1.22 for victory, we're keen to target Hernandez at 5.50 with bet365 to score the first goal of the game.

Meanwhile Tottenham have made a bright start to their maiden Champions League campaign, taking four points from two games to boost their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

However on Wednesday night Harry Redknapp's men face their toughest test so far with a visit to defending champions Inter Milan.

The Italian side opened up with a somewhat disappointing 2-2 draw away at FC Twente, who Spurs went on to thrash 4-1, but roared back two weeks later as they crushed Werder Bremen 4-0 to prove they can be a force under Rafael Benitez just as they were with Jose Mourinho at the reins.

Star striker Samuel Eto'o bagged a hat-trick to continue his hot streak of form this season - he's now scored 12 goals from 11 games in all competitions - and it's no surprise to see him odds-on in places to strike anytime against Spurs.

However Bwin make Eto'o, who showed great character to rise above the racist taunts directed at him during Sunday's clash at Cagliari to fire the winning goal, a generous 2.10 in this market and that's well worth snapping up.

Tottenham's defence has hardly been watertight this campaign and they've only kept two clean sheets so far - a 0-0 draw with Manchester City on the opening day and a 4-0 triumph over Young Boys in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier.

Spurs also threw away a 2-0 lead at Werder Bremen in their first group game to draw 2-2 and they will need to be at the very top of their game to cope with Eto'o.

However Redknapp will be without defender Ledley King, who limped off with a groin injury during Saturday's 2-1 win at Fulham, as well as long-term absentee Michael Dawson. Younes Kaboul could return but it seems most likely William Gallas will partner Sebastien Bassong despite not being fully fit.

Inter have been relying heavily - perhaps too heavily - on the Cameroonian to deliver the goods due to injuries to Diego Milito and Goran Pandev and so far he's been coping with the added pressure and responsibility in impressive fashion.

In order to retain their crown, Benitez needs to ensure his side can break down their opponents when Eto'o has an off day. In the three Serie A games he's failed to find the net, last season's treble winners have drawn two 0-0 and lost the other 1-0.

Therefore a draw at 3.80 with Bwin may attract some punters if they think Spurs can keep Eto'o quiet but the visitors might struggle at the other end of the pitch without the suspended Rafael van der Vaart and the injured Jermain Defoe.

Meanwhile Rangers are looking to build on their encouraging start when they host Valencia at Ibrox.

Walter Smith's men currently sit second in Group C after a narrow 1-0 win over Bursaspor and a plucky goalless draw away at Manchester United while domestically they're also on a roll having won all eight SPL games to go top.

Rangers are a best of 3.75 with Bet365 to pick up a crucial win which would see them take a huge step to the last 16 but they must be wary of a dangerous Valencia side (2.10 Bet365) looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Los Che are also licking their wounds from Saturday's 2-1 loss at Barcelona - a result that ended their unbeaten start in La Liga - so they'll see this as an opportunity to get back on track.

And we feel we've identified a couple of midfielders who look good value to get on the scoresheet for Unai Emery's team at Ibrox.

First of all, Mehmet Topal is worth a small outside punt at 26.00 with Bwin in the first goalscorer market.

The Turk has only played three matches so far but he's back from injury and he could start at Ibrox.

Emery has rotated the midfield in virtually every game and it seems even more likely than ever that changes will be made following a tough match against Barca.

Topal is a defensive midfielder and he won't get into the box too often but he can hit a ball from distance and, at six-foot-two, he poses a threat at set-pieces as he showed when heading the opener in the 2-0 win at Sporting Gijon last month.

Alternatively, if you want something a bit more realistic, then Tino Costa also looks over-priced at 5/1 anytime.

He was outstanding in the 4-0 win at Bursaspor (one goal, two assists) but hasn't played too many times since, which suggests Emery is saving him for this competition.

Ideally it's perhaps best to wait for confirmation he starts before placing an anytime wager because he could come off the bench, although that's obviously a luxury we don't have.

Understandably, the layers haven't got a clue how to price the scorer markets up from an outside perspective because Emery has so many options but it seems to be further back in midfield where some of them have let their guard slip.

PICKS:
Javier Hernandez to score first v Bursaspor at 5.50at Bet365
Samuel Eto'o to score anytime v Tottenham at 2.10at Bwin.
Mehmet Topal to score first v Rangers at 26.00at Bwin
Tino Costa to score anytime v Rangers at 4.40at Bwin