'Deal with the devil' could harm United's trophy hopes - Sir Alex blasts fixture congestion ahead of Chelsea clash

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted unfair fixture scheduling could cost his Manchester United side the title.

United take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow lunchtime, after they played Barcelona in Spain on Wednesday night.

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And Ferguson fears his tired players could lose out in their title showdown against the Londoners.

Talking about the commercial demands of the modern game, Ferguson said: "Once you shake hands with the devil, there is nothing you can do about it.

"It is not fair but what can you do? It happened to us last year after the (European Cup) semi-final with AC Milan, when we had to play Manchester City on the Saturday lunchtime straight afterwards. We just get on with it."

"The fixture is not fair ... in terms of the timing between the two games. (Chelsea has) four days either way to get themselves ready, which is a big advantage, there is no question about that.

"Unfortunately, we have 60 hours to prepare for this game. We stayed overnight in Barcelona. Then we had a light training session at Barcelona's training ground. Being in the sun and having a day relaxing is probably the best thing we could have done."

United face a massive few days, with Barcelona arriving at Old Trafford on Tuesday for the second leg of the European Cup semi-final.

Squad rotation could well be the partial solution to United's problems, with Ferguson hoping United can and Chelsea's four-year unbeaten run in the league and effectively seal the title with a win.

"I will freshen up one or two positions obviously," Ferguson said. "With the squad I have got, I can do that. But nothing definite at the moment but I will make a couple of changes."