Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville were missing from the Manchester United team as it arrived in Denmark for a Champions League match against Aalborg.
Hargreaves was left home because of a knee injury that has bothered him since he joined the team from Bayern Munich last season. It wasn't immediately clear why Neville wasn't in the squad. He didn't appear injured in United's 2-0 win over Bolton this weekend.
Two of Aalborg's key players, midfielders Jeppe Curth and Kasper Risgaard, skipped practice Monday with minor injuries but were included in coach Bruce Rioch's squad for Tuesday's match.
After a frustrating 0-0 draw with Villarreal in their Champions League opener, United needs a win at Aalborg to get their title defence back on track.
Darren Fletcher said on Manutd.com: "It is not going to be quite that easy to beat them. Aalborg might not be a household name but this is the Champions League. It is a top-quality competition and they are a quality side."
The Danes managed a 0-0 draw at Celtic in their first match. Aalborg defender Michael Beauchamp said the underdog tag would be an advantage against United.
"They must win and we are just going to enjoy the game," Beauchamp said. "Football can be a very funny game and if we can get a draw, it will be a great achievement."
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said it was important to "get it right against Aalborg" after dropping two points against Villarreal.
Aalborg is struggling in the 12-team Danish league, where it is in 10th place, but Ferguson expects the Danes to get fired up for what will probably be their biggest match of the season.
"They are playing Manchester United. They will have a sellout crowd and the whole town will be up for it," Ferguson said. ``Danish clubs are always battlers."
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