Reading v Man Utd

Last updated : 27 February 2007 By Angus Muller

Referee: Howard Webb (Yorkshire)
Winners: away to either Middlesbrough or West Brom in the quarter-finals on Saturday, 10 March - 1730 kick off

Nemanja Vidic is a doubt for Manchester United's FA Cup replay with Reading.

The Serbian defender missed training on Monday as he was still feeling the after effects of tough games against Lille and Fulham and seems certain to miss the trip to the Madejski Stadium as the Red Devils look to book a quarter-final meeting with Middlesbrough or West Brom.

With a key Premiership trip to Liverpool looming at the weekend, more changes are likely with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Henrik Larsson among those who could be rested, while Alan Smith is likely to make a reappearance on the bench.

Reading defender Andre Bikey returns from suspension for the clash.

January signings Michael Duberry and Greg Halford are cup-tied but striker Kevin Doyle is back in the squad following a hamstring injury.

Manager Steve Coppell has used cup games as an opportunity to field fringe players, so major changes from Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough are expected.

Teams

Reading (from): Federici, De La Cruz, Ingimarsson, Bikey, Sodje, Gunnarsson, Shorey, Oster, Seol, Sidwell, Harper, Little, Kitson, Long, Lita, Doyle, Hahnemann, Murty.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, O'Shea, Evra, Heinze, Ronaldo, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Richardson, Larsson, Saha, Rooney, Solskjaer, Smith.

  • Reading boss Steve Coppell:
    "It would be great to get a winning result.

    "The quality of the opposition is unquestioned but these are the games that we worked so hard to play in last year.

    "That's what the club has been aspiring to do for the last 15 or 20 years. So we're not going to complain about being here."

  • Manchester United assistant boss Carlos Queiroz:
    "We trust the players. We know they can deliver.

    "We don't have to make changes but we try to ensure the team is as well prepared as possible for each individual game.

    "We have one thought in our minds - to make sure we travel back home knowing we are still in the FA Cup."