McRae plays down victory hopes

"We have a chance of winning, but only a slender chance," said McRae. "Sweden is a rally that's great to compete on and I think my driving style is well suited to these conditions, but I think it's still a bit early to win. I still lack running time in the Xsara and I will need to drive it more to feel totally confident."

After Citroen's dominant performance on the Monte Carlo Rally, where its drivers Sebastien Loeb, McRae and Carlos Sainz finished 1-2-3, the Scot's rivals are not counting on him being uncompetitive.

"Colin and Richard Burns are capable of anything now so they are going to have to be watched very carefully," said Subaru ace Petter Solberg. "They can push very hard on a rally like this and although drivers like Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera are clever guys on this type of surface, they will need to be at their best to win."

Conversely, Ford's young charger Markko Martin is aiming for a podium finish to cement his good form in the Monte where the Estonian finished fourth.

"Two years ago I was good enough to be on the podium if I hadn't had a puncture, so that is the least we should expect," he told Motorsport News. "It is not going to be easy: we will see how the bloody French cars are going. In Monte Carlo, I did a lot better than I expected. If I take that to Sweden it should be a good result. I will just try to surprise myself again."