Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen is relishing today's challenge of marking Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney.

He said: "It will be difficult. It is not only a case of myself taking care of Rooney or Ronaldo. It will be a team effort if we are to have a chance of beating Manchester United.

"You are up against big strikers in every game. That is why I like playing in England because you are going to be challenged every time you play.

"If a striker starts to score goals, it just continues and Wayne Rooney is a great striker who scored a great goal for England against Russia. He is in top form and will be a big challenge for me tomorrow.

"He has a great attitude, he works hard. He is fast, can dribble. He is a good player.

"People mention about how I played against Drogba but he was still a difficult test for me. He went past me a couple of times.

"I was pleased with how I played but I still had a tough time and he has been the hardest I've faced up until now. I had a tough time against him and Rooney will provide a similar big challenge."