Preview: Cardiff
Date, time and coverage: Tuesday 28 January, 19:45 GMT. There will be no live TV coverage in the UK. Follow the action live via ManUtd.com's rolling blog and MUTV Online's radio commentary. Match highlights will be on MUTV Online from midnight GMT. MUTV will be the only UK channel to show the game in full, again from midnight.
Form guide: Four defeats including the recent 3-1 reverse at Chelsea, compounded by a penalty shoot-out exit in the Capital One Cup against Sunderland only two days later, has made it a tough start to the year for Manchester United. However, David Moyes and his players will be buoyed by the new signing of Juan Mata and will be looking to secure an important victory at Old Trafford against Cardiff. Rooted to the foot of the Barclays Premier League and in desperate need of points, the Bluebirds will not be relishing the tough trip to M16. The Welsh outfit have lost their last two league games against West Ham and Manchester City but will have been given a boost by their away wins over Bolton Wanderers and especially Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
Ins and outs: Michael Carrick looks set to miss this encounter after sustaining an ankle injury against Sunderland and
Nani is still sidelined with a hamstring problem. However, United could welcome back
Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Marouane Fellaini after the trio trained on Monday. Despite Cardiff’s lowly placing in the league table, they at least have an almost fully fit squad to call upon for Tuesday evening’s testing clash. Andrew Taylor is their only absentee - the defender is out with an ankle knock.
Last meeting: The teams last faced off back in November in what was a frustrating affair for the Reds. Having taken the lead through Wayne Rooney on 15 minutes, the champions were pegged back by former United man Frazier Campbell. Patrice Evra restored United’s advantage before a last-minute header by Kim Bo-Kyung denied the Reds what would have been an important win.
Betting: Unsurprisingly, United are firm favourites to take the spoils in this encounter with the club's official betting partner bwin placing the Reds at 1.25 with Cardiff coming in at 12.00 and the draw being 5.50. If you think new boy Juan Mata might cap a potential debut with a goal, then why not take a punt? He’s priced at 6.00 to score the opener.
Sub-plot: Tuesday’s game will be a case of welcoming the old and the new to Old Trafford. Cardiff City manager and United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will return to the Theatre of Dreams nearly four years after leaving his post as the Reds' reserve-team coach. However, the star of the show is now likely to be Juan Mata who could make his debut for the champions either as a starter or from the bench. United fans will be looking forward to seeing what the new man can do.
The manager: The aforementioned Solskjaer is now at the helm of Cardiff City after the recent sacking of Malky Mackay and will be looking to cause a big upset against his former club. The former United striker previously spent three successful years in charge of Norwegian club Molde FK, during which he secured the club’s first league titles in their history.
Star man: In what has been a tough campaign for the Bluebirds, it is difficult to look beyond former Reds striker Fraizer Campbell whose goals could be crucial if Cardiff are to avoid the drop. With seven strikes already so far this season, he could benefit further with tutoring from Solskjaer; Campbell actually scored the winner in the Norwegian’s testimonial at Old Trafford back in 2008.
Quote/unquote: “Coming back ‘home’ is going to be a fantastic experience for me. It is the best place in the world to play football.” -
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Whistle-blower: Craig Pawson will be the man with the whistle on Tuesday. It will be the South Yorkshire-born referee’s first time officiating a United game but he has recently taken charge of two matches featuring the Reds' great rivals - Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Hull and Manchester City’s 5-0 FA Cup triumph against Blackburn.
Rivals watch: Liverpool face Everton on Tuesday in an eagerly-anticipated Merseyside derby - the two teams are separated in the table by only one point. Elsewhere, Arsenal make the trip down to the south coast to face Southampton. Then, on Wednesday, Chelsea will face West Ham at Stamford Bridge at the same time as Manchester City’s home fixture against Spurs.
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