Manchester United welcome Wolves to Old Trafford to settle their Third Round tie as both teams look to progress to the Fourth Round, where either Tranmere or Watford await.
The original tie at Molineux finished goalless after a scrappy 90 minutes but Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves will be favourites to progress, after knocking out Man Utd in last season’s Quarter-Finals.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesJesse Lingard could return for Manchester United after missing Saturday’s 4-0 home win over Norwich through illness.
Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are doubts as they continue to build their match fitness, whilst Luke Shaw is likely to miss out with a tight hamstring.
Marcos Rojo (groin), Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring), Paul Pogba (ankle) and Scott McTominay (knee) are ruled out.
Wolves have no fresh injury concerns to report after their 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday, as Willy Boly (ankle) and Diogo Jota (thigh) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Manchester United have lost three of ten previous FA Cup meetings with Wolves (W4, D3, L3).
- Two previous FA Cup ties between these teams have gone to replays with both teams progressing on one occasion each, although the original ties in both cases were played at Old Trafford.
- Wolves haven’t lost to Man Utd in their last five matches in all competitions (W2, D3), which is their best run since a run of five wins and a draw between October 1959 – November 1962.
- Man Utd have won four of their last five FA Cup replays in which just one of those wins came against lower league opposition, whilst their only defeat in that time came at Chelsea in a Quarter-Final replay in April 2013.
- Wolves have lost four of their last five FA Cup replays (W1, L4), although one of those losses came on penalties against Fulham after a 3-3 draw in their R3 replay in January 2015 following a goalless draw in original tie at Craven Cottage.
Prediction
This is a tough match to call because both teams were absolutely dominant at the weekend, despite the contrasting results.
I therefore am expecting a another scrappy encounter but Nuno Espirito Santo seems to be United’s Achilles heel at present with no wins from five previous meetings, which is a huge concern that needs to be shaken off not just now but ahead of their crunch league meeting in a couple of weeks’ time.
Another draw therefore is my best bet but Wolves seem to find another level in their two previous Cup meetings against the Red Devils under Espirito Santo, so I fancy a cupset here.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Wolves
Result: Manchester United 1-0 Wolves