Sunderland boss Gus Poyet admits that his team will have to be prepared to face a backlash from Manchester United following their defeat in the Premier League last week.

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet is adamant that his team have to be wary of a backlash from Manchester United in their Premier League encounter at Old Trafford

The Red Devils were defeated 2-1 by Swansea City last week as they slipped up in their pursuit to earn a Champions League place next season.

The Uruguayan feels that his side's exploits at Old Trafford last season, when they recorded a 1-0 victory, will give his players confidence going into the match, but has insisted that they have to be cautious due to the quality that Louis van Gaal has at his disposal.

Poyet told the club's official website: "Manchester United have to come back [from defeat at Swansea] and they know us well from what happened last year, so they know they will face a team who could find Old Trafford a nice place to play football.

"It is going to be competitive and we need to be spot on defensively because they have quality players, but we don't know too much about the system and who is going to be available so it is a little bit tricky and we need to concentrate on what we do.

"If everyone is fit they have an incredible team. You can go through the players they bought in the summer which cost fortunes wherever you are coming from. They have got options and if something is not working the players on the bench are very good as well, so we need to play our game and that is the main thing."

Sunderland are 16th in the Premier League going into the match against United later today.