Good morning! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's
FA Cup showdown between
Manchester United and
Reading at Old Trafford!
The third-round Saturday of this competition is always a special occasion as lower-league teams dream of pulling off the type of upset which has made this competition so famous. Manchester United are the team looking to avoid that fate this afternoon as they bid to continue their 100% start under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but can Reading produce a shock?
Let's start with a look at the team news...
MAN UTD STARTING XI: Romero; Dalot, Darmian, Jones, Young; McTominay,
Fred, Pereira; Mata, Lukaku, Sanchez
MAN UTD SUBS: Grant, Lindelof, Fellaini, Garner, Chong, Martial, Rashford
READING STARTING XI: Jaakola; Yiadom, Ilori, Moore, Richards; Kelly, Rinomhota; McCleary, Swift, Harriott; Loader
READING SUBS: Walker, Gunter, O'Shea, Aluko, Barrow, Meite, East
What can we make of those two sides, then?
Well, as Solskjaer promised both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez start for the hosts today, and both will be delighted to be back in the starting lineup having come off the bench against Newcastle in midweek.
For Sanchez it is his first start since November following a spell out with a hamstring injury, while Lukaku has now scored off the bench in back-to-back games - including with his first touch against Newcastle.
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While Solskjaer had confirmed that those two big names was start, the rest of the United lineup was something of guesswork to predict with changes expected following such a busy spell in the Premier League.
There were suggestions that a number of youngsters might be included in the side, but Solskjaer has limited those with Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira - both of whom have decent first-team experience under their belts already - the only ones to get the nod.
diogo Dalot would also come into the category of youngster as the summer signing returns to the starting lineup at right-back, and it is an interesting looking defensive line for the home side today.
Solskjaer's hands were tied to a certain extent with Bailly suspended, and Smalling and Rojo injured, so in order to rest Lindelof for this match he has seemingly drafted in Matteo Darmian - who were are used to seeing as a full-back - into the heart of the defence.
The likes of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Nemanja Matic and David de Gea are all rested, but it is still a fairly strong side United are able to name.
Argentina international Romero gets the gloves in goal, while big-money summer signing Fred is among the players to come into the side. Remarkably, most of the players selected in this XI today are now regarded as fringe players, so this is a real chance for them to impress Solskjaer.
There are nine changes in all made by Solskjaer for today's match, with Phil Jones and
Juan Mata the only two players to retain their places from the win over Newcastle.
There is a mixture of youth and experience on the bench too, with Garner and Chong hopeful of run-outs and Fellaini also in contention for a rare appearance. Should United need them, they also have the attacking quality of Martial and Rashford among the subs.
Reading have a former Manchester United favourite among their subs, and John O'Shea will be hopeful of making some kind of outing against his old club having featured in Reading's last two games.
The veteran made 393 appearances for United across all competitions, helping them to win five Premier League titles, two League Cups, the Champions League and the FA Cup. He was more often than not a utility player rather than a regular starter, but he certainly played his part in the club's success during those years.
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Another former United defender - Tyler Blackett - misses out through suspension today, joining Leandro Bacuna in serving the last of their three-game bans following red cards against Millwall.
There is, however, a return from injury for Liam Moore, who replaces O'Shea at the heart of the defence alongside former Liverpool man Tiago Ilori.
That is one of four changes made by manager
Jose Gomes for this match, with the rest coming further upfield. Reading's goalscorer on New Year's Day Callum Harriott is among those to come into the side, replacing Barrow who drops to the bench.
The other changes see Kelly and Loader replace Aluko and Meite - both of whom are also on the bench alongside Chris Gunter, who could make his own return from injury today.
Not a star-studded Reading side by any stretch of the imagination, then, and the hosts will come into this one supremely confident that they will progress into the fourth round with minimum fuss.
That may seem like a standard mood anyway considering they are Manchester United and they are taking on a team struggling in the Championship, but dare I say that it might not have been the case under Jose Mourinho, when you could never be sure which United might turn up on any given day. The only thing you could be sure of is that it would probably be quite dull!
That is by no means the case under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, though, with the former United striker having set the club on the path to restoring their former attacking instincts.
It is still very early in the Norwegian's reign, and much tougher tests will come that he has had so far, but he could not have wished for a better start and those who questioned his appointment considering his lack of managerial experience at the top level will now be beginning to change their opinions.
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Solskjaer has won all four of his matches at the helm so far, becoming only the second person to do that in charge of United after the legendary Sir Matt Busby.
Indeed, he has already picked up as many wins as Jose Mourinho managed in his final 12 league games as United boss, and he has done it in style too with the Red Devils beginning to rediscover their attacking swagger. Under Solskjaer they have scored 14 goals already - an average of more than three per game.
As I alluded to earlier, though, it has been a fairly kind start for Solskjaer so far, with Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Newcastle the four teams they have beaten, and a fifth expected against Reading today.
Things get tougher next weekend when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, but after that they face Brighton, Burnley, Leicester and Fulham before back-to-back matches against PSG and Liverpool at Old Trafford. There is plenty of time to increase their momentum before that difficult double-header, then.
There is still plenty of work to do in terms of achieving their goals in the league this season, although they are beginning to close the gap to the Champions League places.
United were 11 points behind the top four at one stage, but since Solskjaer's appointment they have cut that deficit to six points, with Chelsea's draw against Southampton earlier this week helping them in that regard.
United themselves won 2-0 in their opening match of 2019 as goals from Lukaku and Rashford fired them past Newcastle, and almost as pleasing as the three points would have been the clean sheet - just United's third in the league all season.
Solskjaer has already admitted that he will not want to leave the club at the end of his temporary spell this summer, and if he carries on like this then he may not have to.
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Solskjaer will not need telling the history of this competition either, having won the trophy twice as a United player including in the treble season 20 years ago, when he played in the final.
That is one of 12 times United as a club have lifted the trophy - a tally only Arsenal can beat - and they have not been eliminated from the competition by a lower-league club since their third-round defeat to Leeds United nine years ago.
The Red Devils have also won each of their last four third-round games without conceding a single goal, since a 2-1 defeat against Swansea in 2013-14.
It is a daunting task for Reading today, then, as they not only look to break that impressive run from United but also look to end their own winless streak in recent months.
The Royals have not won a game of football since November 3, picking up only five points from the 30 on offer in their 10 games since then. It is a run of form which has seen them slip into the relegation zone in the Championship, and survival will be their main target for the remainder of the season rather than a good cup run.
Reading sit just one place off the bottom of the table after 26 games, and five points now separate them from safety having won just four league games all season.
Such poor form saw Reading sack Paul Clement at the beginning of December - just nine months after appointing him - and they replaced him with a silver-haired Portuguese boss called Jose shortly before Christmas.
No, not that one. Despite Mourinho's newfound availability after his United departure, Reading went for relative unknown
Jose Gomes, who has been something of a journeyman manager with spells in his native Portugal, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
The fact that the bulk of his recent managerial experience has come in the Middle East raised eyebrows when he got the Reading job, and he has so far struggled to make an immediate impact at the club.
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Reading have picked up just one point from their three games under Gomes so far, and they got 2019 off to a nightmare start by being beaten 4-1 at home by Swansea City on New Year's Day - falling 4-0 down inside 50 minutes.
The Royals did at least manage to score in that game, which is something they have not found easy of late. Reading have drawn blanks in six of their last nine outings, and that goal against Swansea was one of just two they have scored in their last six games.
It has been a rather sudden drought for the Royals, who has scored in 12 of their previous 14 before that and have actually scored the same number of goals as fifth-placed Middlesbrough this season.
The goals have really dried up away from home especially, though, with Reading having scored just once in their last six outings on the road. Defensively they have been stronger, conceding only three goals in their last five away games, but they need to win matches and the only way to do that is to score more goals.
Reading will have been content with a 0-0 draw against in-form QPR in their last away outing, but they have now won just one of their last 21 away games in a run which stretches all the way back to last January.
Not since February 2015 have the Royals won an FA Cup game on the road, drawing three and losing two such matches since then, including a 4-0 defeat at this very ground almost exactly two years ago.
This is the seventh consecutive season that Reading are beginning their FA Cup campaign with an away game, and they only managed a goalless draw against Stevenage at this stage last season - going on to win the replay 3-0.
The Royals would certainly take another draw in this match, but their chances look bleak considering the contrasting form of both of these sides.
PREDICTION: Right, we are 10 minutes away from kickoff at Old Trafford, which means that it is time for a prediction!
You can never count out an upset in the FA Cup, but we have to go with the form book in this one. It would be a major shock if United crashed out today, so we're going for a fairly comfortably home win.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man Utd 3-0 Reading
These two sides met each other at this stage of the competition just two years ago as well, with United cruising to a 4-0 victory on that occasion.
Martial and Rashford (2) were both on the scoresheet for the Red Devils that day, but it was Wayne Rooney who stole the headlines with his 249th goal for the club, equalling Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time record.
Incredibly, 14 of the 21 previous meetings between these two sides have come in the FA Cup, and Reading have won just one of those - a third-round tie in 1927 which went to a second replay.
United have otherwise won eight and drawn five of those 14 FA Cup contests, including seven wins and two draws from their last nine such meetings.
Indeed, that solitary 1927 FA Cup win for Reading is their only victory against United in any competition, and the Red Devils are unbeaten in 16 meetings since then.
The 20-time English champions have won each of their last five meetings too, so they enjoy utter domination of this fixture down the years.
Right, we're almost ready to go at Old Trafford so let's have a quick reminder of the team news before we do get started...
MAN UTD STARTING XI: Romero; Dalot, Darmian, Jones, Young; McTominay, Fred, Pereira; Mata, Lukaku, Sanchez
READING STARTING XI: Jaakola; Yiadom, Ilori, Moore, Richards; Kelly, Rinomhota; McCleary, Swift, Harriott; Loader
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! Reading get us underway at Old Trafford!
It is still very early in this match, of course, but Reading will be happy with their start. They do not look overawed by the occasion at this stage and have settled into the match nice and quickly.
It has been a rather sloppy start to the game. Both teams have misplaced passes and neither - we're particularly looking at you, United - have been able to take control in the opening exchanges.
Better from United as they zip a few passes about and almost break through the lines, but Sanchez goes down and wins a free kick to end that particular move.
UPDATE: The first FA Cup goal of the day has gone in at the London Stadium, where Marko Arnautovic has given West Ham the lead against Birmingham.
United have the chance to break and first Mata overruns it, but the ball bounces kindly for Lukaku to keep the move alive. It eventually ends up at the feet of Sanchez, who tries to clip his pass in to Lukaku, but Ilori reads it and deals with the danger.
Reading have had 62% of the possession in the opening exchanges of this match - a rather embarrassing statistic for United. The Championship side have settled quickly, whereas United are struggling to get any sort of rhythm going.
Ilori needs some lengthy treatment here after landing heavily following an aerial clash with Lukaku. He should be OK to continue, but he is not moving freely right now.
CLOSE! United suddenly burst into life with Lukaku, Fred and McTominay all involved to find Sanchez, who tries his luck from 20 yards but fires a powerful strike narrowly over the crossbar.
CHANCE! Chance for Reading as McCleary cuts inside from the left before playing a low pass into the box. There is a miskick in the middle, but it still travels all the way through to Yiadom, who produces a defender's finish and fires well off target when he should have done better.
Old teammates reunited before kickoff today...
DISALLOWED GOAL! United think that they have taken the lead as Fred tucks his finish into the bottom corner after Mata had squeezed the ball through to him. The linesman's flag is up, but we will go to VAR. It looks like offside, but will there be a penalty for a foul on Mata?
PENALTY! After a long, long wait, referee Stuart Attwell points to the spot! The foul on Mata preceded the offside, so it is a penalty to United!
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 READING (JUAN MATA, PENALTY)
GOAL! Mata tucks his penalty in the bottom corner with aplomb, sending the keeper the wrong way in the process.
Get ready for more questions over VAR, though, as it took more than two minutes to reach that decision. Ultimately, though, it was the right one as it was a foul on Mata inside the area just before Fred tucked it home from an offside position. A slightly complicated one, but the correct decision was made in the end.
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More penalty appeals from Old Trafford as the ball strikes Yiadom in the area and the fans call for handball. VAR checks will go on in the background, but nothing is given. The replay shows that he was outside the area and far too close to Sanchez, although it did hit his hand.
Much better from United now, who seem to have settled after that opener. A slick move ends up with Young advancing down the left flank, but his low ball into the box is cut out by the keeper.
Richards has already given one penalty away today but that has not stopped him sliding into another challenge inside the box here. This time he gets it spot on to dispossess Sanchez, though.
CHANCE! Lukaku is almost released clean through on goal but gets the ball caught under his feet which allows Moore to get back. Lukaku does still get his shot away, but it is too close to the keeper.
CHANCE! Reading respond with a big chance of their own as a cute pass around the corner releases Harriott down the right and he lays the ball into the path of Loader. The striker only has Romero to beat, but he takes too long over his finish, tries to take it round the corner and in the end has to settle for a corner.
They may not get many chances like that today!
SHOT! Reading are not going down without a fight here. This time the ball drops to Harriott, but he slices his effort a few yards wide from outside the area.
YELLOW CARD! Yiadom goes into the book for a crunching challenge on Fred.
UPDATE: We have finally had a few goals elsewhere in the FA Cup today, with Brighton striking twice in quick succession to lead Bournemouth 2-0 and West Brom taking the lead against Wigan.
Reading again find themselves with space going forward here, but Harriott is unable to make the most of it. The Royals have certainly shown enough to encourage them today, though.
Jaakkola improvises really well in the Reading goal as he nudges the ball past Sanchez with his knee to avoid a back-pass. Unorthodox, but Reading survived.
Reading are very much in this game while the deficit remains one, and in truth they can consider themselves hard done by to be behind. They have more than held their own in this match.
What Reading cannot afford to do is lose a man, so Yiadom has to calm down a little. Having already been booked, he is penalised for another foul on Sanchez here.
Just a couple of minutes remaining in the first half now and Reading, despite being behind, will be fairly satisfied with what they have shown. They just need more of a cutting edge in the final third.
SAVE! ...cue another sight of goal which goes begging. Reading win the ball high up the pitch and Harriott has the chance to shoot from just outside the area, but his tame effort is easy for Romero.
There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
SAVE! Romero is called into action here as he palms Yiadom's fierce effort from a tight angle behind for a corner. It is Reading looking most likely to add to the scoring at the end of this first half!
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 READING (ROMELU LUKAKU)
GOAL! Ah. I believe that is what is known as the commentator's curse...
United strike just before half time as Swift gives the ball away inside the home side's half and is quickly punished. Sanchez slides a lovely pass through to Lukaku, who matches it with his run before taking the ball around the keeper and sliding his finish into the empty net.
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HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 READING
It is harsh on Reading, but Manchester United go into the break with a 2-0 lead and now have one foot in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Championship opponents have more than held their own, but they have been unable to make the most of some promising attacking positions, whereas United have punished the Royals when they have had the chance.
The opening goal was shrouded in confusion as Fred tucked the ball into the back of the net but saw his finish ruled out for offside. VAR showed that it was the right decision, but there was also a question of a foul on Mata as he played the ball through to Fred.
It took more than two minutes for the video assistant to make a decision - partially due to a question of whether an offside Lukaku was interfering in play too - but they eventually awarded a penalty which Mata tucked away himself.
Reading responded well to falling behind, but they were hit with a hammer blow right on the stroke of half time as United doubled their lead with the last major action of the half.
Lukaku was slipped through by an incisive Alexis Sanchez pass and got to the ball ahead of the keeper, taking it around him and sliding his finish into an empty net to give the hosts a rather flattering 2-0 lead at the interval.
Reading will be pleased with their overall performance, if not the scoreline, having got into a number of really good positions.
The best chance fell the way of Loader, who was played clean through on goal by Harriott but then took too long over his finish as he tried to take the ball around Romero. Yiadom and Harriott have also had sights of goal themselves, but the visitors need a cutting edge in the final third.
KICKOFF: Manchester United get us back underway for the second half, and Reading have made a change at the break with Sone Aluko replacing Ilori.
SHOT! The ball is teed up to Swift around 25 yards from goal, but once again the end product is lacking and he fires high and wide of the target.
That half-time change from Reading makes them an even more attacking outfit now. They are going to go for this one in the second half, which is great to see.
SAVE! Swift tries his luck from a free kick and his long-range effort is better this time, with Romero collecting a difficult one well.
Kelly tries to produce a Ronnie Radford moment by hitting a bouncing ball from a long, long way out, but it flies well off target.
CHANCE! Big chance for Harriott as Aluko sneaks a clever pass into the box for Harriott, who takes a touch but then goes for power over accuracy and puts his finish too close to Romero. Swift fires another long-range strike wide seconds later, but it was that Harriott chance which was the biggest.
Harriott's blushes may be spared by the fact that he looked slightly offside when he received the ball, so even if he had scored it probably would have been disallowed for offside.
Yiadom looks to have denied Lukaku a chance inside the box, but Lukaku wins the ball back by shrugging the defender off it. He then tees up Mata, but his strike is well blocked before it can trouble Jaakkola.
Good tracking back from Aluko to win possession for Reading and the visitors pour forward. They have five against four, but again do not make the most of it as the first United man wins the ball back.
UPDATE: Bournemouth have pulled a goal back against Brighton in their all-Premier League clash at Dean Court. It is now 2-1 to the Seagulls.
READING SUB: Change for Reading here as McCleary is replaced by Modou Barrow.
MAN UTD SUBS: A big reception for the highly-rated Tahith Chong as he replaces Mata in a double change which also sees Marouane Fellaini come on for Fred.
It looks as though United will be forced into a quickfire third here too as Sanchez calls for a sub after feeling something.
MAN UTD SUB: There is the change, with Sanchez limping off while feeling his hamstring. On comes Marcus Rashford in his place.
Sanchez has not gone down the tunnel despite clearly having an injury, and in fact he accidentally sat in Solskjaer's seat! He is swiftly told to move by the boss.
CHANCE! Really good play from Young as he wins the ball on the left before cutting inside and driving into the box. He pulls the ball back for Fellaini, but he cannot react in time to get enough power on his flick towards goals and the keeper collects.
United burst forward on the counter and Lukaku tries to slide a pass down the right channel for Chong, who is narrowly beaten to the ball by a crunching challenge from Moore inside the box.
SAVE! Young loses the ball inside his own half to set Reading forward, and Barrow then skips past Darmian on the opposite flank. He plays the ball to Aluko, whose miskick sends it into the ground and makes it difficult for Romero, who is at full stretch to turn it behind for a corner.
A brief VAR check for Stuart Attwell after a suggestion of handball against McTominay, but the replay shows that there was never any danger of that being given.
Just over 15 minutes remaining in this match now and Reading do deserve something from this game - even if it is only a goal. They have not looked like a team that is second from bottom in the Championship.
READING SUB: Change for the visitors here as Harriott is replaced by Yakou Meite.
YELLOW CARD! Chong picks up his first senior yellow card for a trip on Richards.
It looks like being five wins from five for Solskjaer unless something remarkable happens in the final 10 minutes or so, but he will not be entirely pleased with what he has seen from his side today. They have not played badly by any means, but they also haven't been as dominant as they might expect against these opponents.
UPDATE: Stoke may have just saved themselves from an upset - at least for now. They have levelled things up at League One Shrewsbury.
This is all about game management for United now. They are knocking the ball about amongst themselves and just preventing Reading from mounting any late pressure.
Only five minutes remaining in this match now and the match stats have just popped up - Reading have had more shots, more shots on target and more possession than their hosts.
A couple of goals from United, a good performance from Reading and a debut for Tahith Chong, but I think we can all agree that this has been the highlight of this match...
It is surely too late for Reading now, who look set to go 11 games without a win. They can take lots of encouragement from how they have performed in this one, though.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
CHANCE! Chance for United to add a third late on as Pereira drills a low strike towards the bottom corner, but Jaakkola pulls off a fine stop to turn it behind for a corner.
FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 READING
Manchester United make it five wins from five under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and seal their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup in the process, then, but credit must go to Reading for a spirited - if ultimately toothless - display at Old Trafford.
A VAR-awarded Juan Mata penalty saw United take the lead in a match they were by no means dominating, and Romelu Lukaku's second just before half time came against the run of play. Victory is ultimately United's, though, as they continue to march on under Solskjaer.
Right, that is all we have time for this afternoon!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as United maintain their 100% record under Solskjaer and reach the fourth round of the FA Cup in the process. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
