Alex Ferguson Manchester United Champions League Real Madrid

Sir Alex Ferguson is in confident mood ahead of Manchester United's Champions League clash with Real Madrid

United warmed up for the second leg of their last 16 tie with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Norwich on Saturday, while Real boosted their preparations with their second victory over Barcelona in four days.

Ferguson is fully aware of the threat posed by Real, but feels his players are relishing the prospect of taking on the Spanish giants.

"It will be a fantastic game between two of the biggest clubs in the world," said Ferguson.

"Emotions will be high, it will be a tremendous match - it can't be anything else. The atmosphere will be electric.

"I think both teams will score but, hopefully, we'll score more than them

"Our team at the moment is playing with great spirit. There's a great atmosphere in the dressing room and that's helping us. It doesn't matter which games are coming up, we are relishing it.

Ferguson saw Real's impressive midweek win over Barcelona at Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey and he is confident they will not be able to repeat that perfect away day display at Old Trafford

"What was I thinking after watching [Madrid's Copa del Rey win]? I just wanted to sleep," he said in the Sun. "They were fantastic and every part of their game was spot-on.

"You get that sometimes, I've experienced it myself. You need 11 players to play well but, on odd occasions, you have 11 players who are absolutely superb.

"That's what you had the other night. They had 11 who were absolutely superb. But I don't think they'll reach that height on Tuesday. I think it was a one-off performance.

"They'll still play well and we'll have to make sure we play well. But the other night they really hit the heights, it was a top performance.

"We'll be OK because it will be a different game. That was the issue on Tuesday, their counter-attacking was terrific. We're aware of that and our preparation has to include that but I think we'll score, I really do."