Manchester United will be without Adnan Januzaj because the forward did not start a league match for Borussia Dortmund while on loan with the German side and is short of match fitness.
Phil Jones is also out because of an ankle injury, Ashley Young is likely to be rested but Jesse Lingard is available after a hamstring complaint.
Sheffield United could be boosted by the return of forward Matt Done after a hamstring injury.
Editor’s Note: Sheffield United currently find themselves 8th in League One and today Manager Nigel Adkins will be looking to claim the biggest scalp of this 3rd Round weekend as his side travel to Old Trafford.
The pressure has ever so slightly eased on Louis Van Gaal over the last 10 days or so with a job saving draw against Chelsea and then a home win over struggling Swansea last Saturday. Their victory last weekend wasn’t particularly pretty and it nearly turned into a draw had Lukasz Fabianski’s header not fallen the other side of the post but Manager, Players and Fans alike will just be glad that they got 3 points on the board.
Today the focus shifts to the F.A. Cup and United’s only realistic chance of winning some silverware between now and the end of the season. It seems apparent that the United faithful aren’t prepared to go another season without a trophy and a Cup win would go somewhat to appeasing them and maybe it could be a leaving gift from Louis Van Gaal.
First they have to make sure they don’t slip on this potential cup Banana Skin. The Blades will feel like that they have nothing to lose and this trip to Old Trafford won’t be like of days gone by so confidence will rightly be high in Nigel Adkins’ camp he just has to hope confidence can be turned into a performance.
It will be interesting how much respect Van Gaal shows Sheffield United, he may well feel that he can’t afford to take too many risks and play a full strength side this evening, the good news for him is that Wayne Rooney finally found the net again last weekend and will no doubt be looking to continue that goalscoring form
Manchester United should win this but it’s not a fearsome United side at present so Louis Van Gaal’s men will have a job to do, I reckon it will be a home win but imagine the headlines if it wasn’t. Would that be the end of Van Gaal’s tenure as another trophyless season enters the horizon.. We may know the answer by 7:30pm tonight