Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner has declared himself fit for Saturday's clash with Manchester United.

"Everything's fine. My groin's still a bit sore, but I'm doing more rehab each day and hopefully I'll be ready for Saturday," Gardner told the Birmingham Mail.

"It's a game I really don't want to miss. Man U at home is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, game of the season so I'm determined to be fit and it would be nice to be a part of the team that plays against United.

"These are the games no player wants to miss. You want to go out there and perform in front of over 40,000 and you want to play against the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Giggs - what more can you ask for?

"They're players I admire, true professionals, and to come up against them is what I've always aimed for."

Gardner has warned United to expect a tough test when they travel to Villa Park, with Villa having already beaten Chelsea at home this season.

"Villa Park isn't an easy place for teams to come," added Gardner. "I'm sure Chelsea came here thinking they were going to get all three points and we won 2-0.

"Nobody will come here and stroll to the points. We'll give teams a game and we'll put up a fight. We've got that 'never say die' attitude now under Martin O'Neill.

"Even if we go 1-0 down, we have the character to bounce back and that's a good thing to have."