Wanderers are hoping to rub salt into Manchester United's wounds writes Gordon Sharrock

Fresh from their warm weather training in Dubai, Sam Allardyce's players are preparing to pile the pressure on their Old Trafford rivals in Saturday's big Reebok derby.

They believe they can exploit the weaknesses that have suddenly opened up in the United camp to celebrate a rare Premiership double over their arch-rivals.

The Reds, already reeling from Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup defeat by Arsenal, have been further rocked by the widely-publicised spat between Sir Alex Ferguson and David Beckham, which left the England captain needing two stitches above his left eye.

While the manager laughed off the incident as "a freak of nature" there have been reports yesterday that Fergie and Becks had to be dragged apart. It has even been suggested the United camp is now split with players taking sides in the wake of the incident in which the manager - furious after the Arsenal defeat - kicked a boot which struck Beckham in the face.

Such turmoil can only enhance Wanderers' hopes of doubling up on their 1-0 Old Trafford triumph in September.

But Henrik Pedersen says it would be foolish to assume that United, who meet Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night, will be feeling the heat.

The 27-year-old striker, who is looking to complete a personal treble after scoring in successive games, says: "Personally I don't think it will be an advantage for us because United are so used to playing two or three games a week. Alex Ferguson has an unbelievable squad.

"It's difficult to say how Unitedwillrespondtothe defeat against Arsenal. They will use their best players for the Champions League game and may want to rest some players on Saturday, but they cannot afford to lose ground to Arsenal in the Premiership.

"It would be very special for me to score against them but as long as we win I don't care who scores.

"It would be nice to do the double over them. No team in this league is unbeatable and we certainly owe them from last season."

Pedersen's reference to last season was the 4-0 drubbing which Wanderers experienced against the then reigning Premiership champions at the Reebok Stadium in January 2002.

The Dane believes the trip to Dubai and the arrival of new stars Salva Ballesta, Pierre-Yves Andre and Florent Laville has made the squad hungrier than ever.

He said: "The trip to Dubai helped to get the three new players used to our methods."