Sam Allardyce takes his men to Old Trafford as West Ham United face Manchester United in the replay of FA Cup third round fixture this midweek. The winner of this game will face either Fulham or Blackpool in the fourth round, which will be played on 26 January.

Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney is set to return for Manchester United. Reuters

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 8:05pm GMT. Live coverage will be available on iTV and iTV 1 HD. Catch the highlights of the game on iTV 1 and iTV 1 HD at 10:50pm GMT.

Overview

United are entering this game on the back of a 2-1 win over their archrivals Liverpool at Old Trafford during the weekend. The Red Devils now have 55 points from 22 games, leading holders Manchester City by seven points in the Premier League table.

Sir Alex Ferguson has seen his side remain unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, winning five. United would be looking for nothing less than a convincing win against West Ham on Wednesday and thereby progress to the later stages of the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Hammers come into this game with a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light at the weekend. They have managed to win just one out of their last seven games in all competitions. The defeat against the Black Cats has now resulted in West Ham dropping to 11th in the league table, with 26 points from 21 games.

The first match at Upton Park ended in a 2-2 draw, with Robin van Persie scoring a late equaliser for United to keep Ferguson's side's hope of winning the FA Cup alive. Allarydce will be hoping for a win against their midweek opponents, with the Hammers desperate to progress to the fourth round of the tournament.

Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce will be looking to upset Manchester United. Reuters

Form Guide

Manchester United

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W D W W W
  • Last Result: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool

West Ham United

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L D W L L
  • Last Result: Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United

Team News

Luis Nani
Luis Nani is likely to start for Manchester United  Reuters

Ferguson is likely to start summer recruit Alexander Buttner in place of Patrice Evra at left-back. Skipper Nemanja Vidic and Ashley Young have been ruled out for the fixture, while Wayne Rooney is likely to start. Luis Nani is also expected to return for the tie, after being out of action since November.

Probable Line-Up: Lindegaard; Jones, Ferdinand, Smalling, Buttner; Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Nani; Rooney, Hernandez

Allardyce has a few injury worries as he will be without James Collins, George McCartney, Joey O'Brien and on-loan striker Andy Carroll, who have all been ruled out with their respective injuries for this trip. Marouane Chamakh remains ineligible to play this game since the Moroccan international was not registered as a West Ham player during the first match.

Proable Line-Up: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Potts; Noble, Diarra; J Cole, Nolan, Taylor; C Cole

Manchester United FC Wayne Rooney