Like most Reds, Patrice Evra spent a large part of the summer counting down the days for the start of the new season.

Sir Alex's men kick-off their 2009/10 campaign on home soil against newly promoted Birmingham City on Sunday lunchtime.

And despite not being particularly familiar with Alex McLeish's side, Evra is still expecting a tough encounter against the men from the Midlands.

"They’ll have a lot of ambition and will want to show people they deserve to be in the Premier League," the left-back told United Review.

"It’s often hard playing teams who have just been promoted or teams in the bottom half of the table because they have nothing to lose. If Birmingham get beaten it’s not a big deal – most people would expect them to lose against the champions.