Manchester United vs Reading; The FA Cup Third Round
Manchester United vs Reading. The FA Cup Third Round.
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Man Utd vs Reading preview: Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to start
Saturday 5 January 2019 09:03, UK
Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku are set to start for Manchester United when they take on Reading in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
The pair came on as substitutes against Newcastle on Wednesday with Sanchez returning from a hamstring injury and Lukaku netting the opener in the 2-0 win at St James' Park.
Caretaker-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won the FA Cup as a player and is targeting silverware as a coach, saying: "We're about winning trophies of course.
"The FA Cup final is such a fantastic final. I played in the 1999 one at Wembley and, after having watched so many finals as a kid, to be able to make that long walk up from the dressing room to the pitch was fantastic. That's what we hope for."
There is also a new face at Reading with the trip to Old Trafford the fourth game in charge for Jose Gomes and he says anything can happen in football despite the daunting challenge.
He said: "It's a special game, playing away against Man Utd. They're a very strong team, now they're playing with a different dynamic - it looks like the players are more comfortable with the way they are playing now.
"It will be a very tough game for us, but it's a football game so everything can happen. We have a small light that can give us some hope, that we can play our football, play good football, and the result - we don't know. Everything can happen."
Team news
Paul Pogba is unlikely to be available for United because he is still feeling the effects of Jonjo Shelvey's controversial challenge in the victory over Newcastle. Elsewhere, Solskjaer is also expected to rotate his squad.
Former United man, Tyler Blackett, serves the final match of his suspension for Reading after a red card against Millwall, as does Leandro Bacuna.
John O'Shea also makes a return to the club where he played nearly 400 games and could start, having featured in the last two games under Gomes.
Opta stats
Manchester United have lost just one of their 14 FA Cup matches against Reading (W8 D5) and are unbeaten against them in the competition since a 1-2 defeat in a second round-three replay back in January 1927 (W7 D2).
Manchester United are unbeaten in 16 games in all competitions against Reading (W12 D4), winning each of the last five - a run that started in the FA Cup back in January 1936.
Since a 1-2 defeat against Swansea in round three of the 2013-14 FA Cup, Manchester United have won each of their four such games at this stage without conceding a single goal.
This will be the seventh consecutive season Reading will be starting their FA Cup campaign away from home, winning two, drawing two and losing two of their previous six third round games.
