Premier League leaders Manchester United travel to Upton Park to take on West Ham United in the third round of the FA Cup. The Red Devils step back from league duty with a seven-point cushion over defending champions Manchester City. The Hammers, meanwhile, are 11th in the league and have just confirmed the loan signing of Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh.

West Ham Striker Carlton Cole
Reuters

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 5.15pm GMT. Live coverage is on iTV 1 and iTV 1 HD, with radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 live. Catch all the highlights on the same TV channels at 11pm GMT.

Overview

West Ham were finalists in the 2006 FA Cup and come into this match after ending a four-match winless run in the Premier League by beating Norwich City 2-1 at home. Sam Allardyce's recently promoted side have, however, lost both of their last two meetings against United. The most recent was a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford in November.

The good news is that the Hammers last beat Sir Alex Ferguson's side in 2010, dishing out a surprising 4-0 defeat in a League Cup quarter-final. That should be a major boost for the club ahead of this game.

West Ham's home form is rather encouraging. The Hammers have lost only three times in 11 league games this season and won five of those, including a sensational 3-1 win over Chelsea (under interim manager Rafael Benitez). United will also be wary of the fact West Ham have scored 19 times in 11 home games, which is more than any other club below them in the table. In fact, apart from the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal, no other Premier League club has scored more.

Kevin Nolan (L)
Reuters

United, meanwhile, are in excellent form. The Red Devils hammered Wigan Athletic 4-0 at the DW Stadium on New Year's Day and have not lost a domestic fixture since the Canaries shocked them 1-0 at Carrow Road in mid-November.

The Red Devils' away form in the league has been excellent, with eight wins from 11 games. In addition, the club have scored more goals on the road than any other in English top flight. There could be some concern over the fact they've conceded 15 times but two successive clean sheets heading into this match will boost Ferguson's confidence on that point.

Team Form

West Ham United

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W L L D L
  • Last Match: West Ham United 2 - 1 Norwich City

Manchester United

  • Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W W W D W
  • Last Match: Wigan Athletic 0 - 4 Manchester United

Team News

Former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole could make a second West Ham debut (after leaving the club to join Stamford Bridge in 2003) in this match. Cole completed a free transfer from Liverpool earlier this week and he is joined by Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh as new arrivals at Upton Park. However, Chamakh is not eligible for this match.

Allardyce will be without midfielder Mohamed Diame and striker Andy Carroll, with Matthew Taylor and Carlton Cole expected to take their places. George McCartney is also unavailable, while James Collins and Kevin Nolan will return from suspension.

Probable Line-Up: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien; Noble, Taylor; Vaz Te, Nolan, Joe Cole; C Cole

The Red Devils will be without England striker Wayne Rooney, Portuguese winger Nani and midfielder Anderson. In addition, Ferguson will probably rest key players ahead of the high-profile visit of Liverpool next week.

This means left-back Patrice Evra, striker Robin van Persie and midfielder Michael Carrick are all expected to be benched for this game, with summer signing Alexander Buttner, youngster Danny Welbeck and veteran Paul Scholes likely to start.

Probable Line-Up: De Gea; Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Buttner; Scholes, Cleverley; Welbeck, Kagawa, Young; Chicharito

Wayne Rooney