FA Cup champions 12 times on Saturday night, Manchester United will host Championship club Reading at Old Trafford in a fourth-round tie.
The Red Devils defeated Everton 3-1 in the third round to set up a meeting with the Royals, who defeated fellow second-tier club Watford 2-0 at home.
Man United moved one step closer to winning their first trophy since 2017 after defeating Nottingham Forest 3-0 away in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night.
Wout Weghorst scored his first goal for the club, joining goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes to give the Red Devils a commanding three-goal lead heading into the second leg at home next week. Erik ten Hag’s side now turns their attention to the FA Cup, where they enter Saturday’s game having won their last ten games at Old Trafford in all competitions, scoring 26 goals and conceding only four.
Man United, who are fourth in the Premier League table, are also unbeaten in their last 14 FA Cup home matches, including two third-round victories over Reading in the last six years – 4-0 in 2017 and 2-0 in 2019. The Red Devils have won nine of their ten FA Cup meetings with the Royals, but they must not underestimate their Championship opponents on Saturday after being eliminated on penalties by second-tier Middlesbrough in the fourth round last season.
Reading have failed to win their last two Championship games since beating Watford in the FA Cup third round three weeks ago, conceding six goals in the process, with a 2-2 draw at home to Queens Park Rangers followed by a 4-0 thrashing by Stoke City last weekend.
Our number 10 has scored 10 goals in 10 games for Erik 10 Hag. 😁🔥 #mufc. pic.twitter.com/VdXFNx1A99
— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) January 26, 2023
The Royals, who have spent the last ten years in the second tier, have slipped to 14th in the table, five points behind the playoff positions, with no immediate fears of relegation as they are 11 points clear of the bottom three. The Royals’ chances of pulling off an upset against Manchester United on Saturday appear slim, as they have lost seven of their last eight FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition, and they have only won one of their previous 22 meetings against the Red Devils across all competitions – that victory, however, came in the FA Cup, where they won a third-round replay 2-1 back in 1927.
Team News
Manchester United
Axel Tuanzebe and Jadon Sancho of Manchester United have returned to training but are not yet ready to play for the first team, while Donny van de Beek is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. After missing the win over Forest, Luke Shaw (illness), Anthony Martial (leg), and Diogo Dalot (hamstring) are all questionable for this weekend’s game.
Harry Maguire is available to play after serving a one-match suspension in midweek, and the centre-back could replace either Lisandro Martinez or Victor Lindelof, while goalkeeper David de Gea could be rested and replaced by either Tom Heaton or Jack Butland.
Reading
Reading will be without Andy Carroll (ankle), Naby Sarr (knee), Sam Hutchinson (Achilles), and Liam Moore (hamstring) due to injury, while Ovie Ejaria is set to miss out after allegedly being told to leave the club earlier this month.
Teenage right-back Kelvin Abrefa, who scored against Watford in the third round, recovered from a knee injury to play for the club’s Under-21s on Monday and could be included in the senior match day squad on Saturday.
Lucas Joao, Shane Long, Scott Dann, and Nesta Guinness-Walker will all be hoping to force their way back into the starting XI after starting on the bench against Stoke.
Predictions
Manchester United 3-0 Reading
