While the vast majority of Premier League teams start preparing for their weekend matches, the Red Devils have jetted off to Tokyo, hoping to return as officially the best football club in the world. On first glance, it doesn't appear as though their opposition is up to much, with bookmakers offering a best price 2/5 (Betfred and Paddy Power) that Sir Alex Ferguson's team return with the trophy.

Will it be the walk in the park that the odds suggest? Pachuca appear to represent the greatest danger to United, with the North American SuperLiga champions having beaten Egyptian champions Al-Ahly on Saturday. The Mexican champions were two goals behind before staging a memorable second-half and extra-time comeback to win the game 4-2.

Pachuca's semi-final opponents will be LDU Quito, the reigning South American champions, who are the first team from Ecuador to have won the Copa Libertadores. Most of their players are Ecuadorian, and bet365 make them third-favourites to be victorious in Japan.

The final team in the last four of the competition are Gamba Osaka, the 12/1 (totesport) outsiders to win the competition. The AFC Champions League winners will try and make life difficult for Manchester United in their semi-final clash, especially off the back of a 1-0 win over Adelaide and with a passionate home crowd driving them on.

It might be worth noting that in the past three years, there have been two South American winners, with Milan becoming the first European team to lift the trophy last year.