On Tuesday night, Manchester United welcome Cambridge United to Old Trafford in a FA Cup fourth-round replay after the League Two outfit produced an excellent performance in the last contest between the two sides to force a goalless draw.
Manchester United will come into this game on the back of a moral boosting 3-1 victory over Leicester City in the Premier League whilst Cambridge United suffered a 3-2 loss away to Luton Town.
Despite the defeat, Cambridge United will be backed by 6,600 of their travelling supporters and the players will no doubt feed off the occasion in their attempt to pull of the near impossible task of progressing to the fifth round to face either Preston North End or Sheffield United.
For Manchester United, a convincing victory is a must. Following the exits of Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City, United will be one of the favourites to go all the way in the competition should they, as expected, progress into the next round. Michael Carrick will again miss out with a muscle injury that is likely to keep him side-lined for around four weeks but Ashley Young, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling all could be in line to feature or even start on Tuesday night.
One player Man United supporters should have a particular eye on in the game will be Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian winger is rediscovering his best form and after an impressive display on the weekend, Louis van Gall has called on the Belgian winger to produce consistent displays to force his way into the starting line-up.
Van Gaal said: “He (Januzaj) has a lot of talent but you have to show that talent in matches and also in training sessions…I don’t make the line-up; the players themselves make the line-up (through their performances). The competition is high.”
Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini could all be in contention to start having missed out on a starting place against Leicester City at the weekend. Also, Louis van Gaal will have one eye on the weekend and may slightly rotate his side against Cambridge as Man United face a tricky away trip to West Ham on Sunday in the Premier League.
Meanwhile Cambridge manager Richard Money could introduce striker Robbie Simpson to the starting line-up after he came off the bench to score at the weekend in the defeat to Luton. Money will however, be unable to name Liam Hughes, who suffered an injury in the first game between the two sides to his ankle, and Harrison Dunk will definitely miss out with knee ligament damage.
With the transfer window slamming shut at 11pm tonight (2nd February), there has been no movement from van Gaal and Ed Woodward to report on regarding any incoming transfers. Unless they have a surprise up their sleeves, van Gaal will go into the second half of the season with the same players at his disposal and will hope to build upon the victory over Leicester City at the weekend with a convincing performance and victory against Cambridge.
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