ITALIAN goal-ace Ciccio Grabbi believes Rovers have nothing to fear as Manchester United prepare to descend on Ewood tonight.

When the 26-year-old striker put pen to paper on a four year contract earlier this summer, the first game he looked for when the fixtures came out was United at home.

But, though he's relishing the chance to pits his wits against Alex Ferguson's star-studded cast, he insists Rovers should not be in awe of the champions.

"I used to watch a lot of Premiership football on TV back in Italy, particularly if Paolo Di Canio was playing, so I know this game is going to be a big one because Manchester United are a very good team," said Grabbi.

"But it's only 11 against 11 and we've got nothing to be afraid of because anything can happen on the night."

United new-boys Juan Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy might be the ones hogging all the headlines at the moment following their big-money moves over the summer.

But Grabbi is more excited about crossing swords with two of United's old guard -- namely David Beckham and Roy Keane.

"I've always rated David Beckham as a player but, for me, the one player who symbolises what the Premiership is all about is Roy Keane.

"When he plays he never gives anything less than his best and his spirit sums up United."

But if lining up against the likes of United is an ambition fulfilled for Grabbi, then scoring his first goal in a Rovers shirt against the Reds tonight would be the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

"When you sign for a new club it's always important as a striker to score a couple of goals early on," said Grabbi.

"And I'd love nothing more than to score my first goal at Ewood against United because that really would be a dream."