Derby Day

Following two poor defeats at the hands of Blackburn and Newcastle, the Reds would love nothing more than an easy win to get them back on track.

However, instead of a lower league cup tie to get back to winning ways for a stuttering United side, they are facing a massive clash against Premier League and local rivals Man City in the FA Cup third round. Not exactly the easy game they wanted, but a win would give the Champions a major psychological boost for the remainder of the campaign.

But a win at the Etihad stadium seems far from likely after the dire performances of the last week. First of all, a shocking home defeat to bottom of the league Blackburn, followed by a pounding from Newcastle, on both occasions conceding 3 to highlight the leaky defence of early season is back.

There were also troubles off the pitch, with Wayne Rooney fined and dropped, missing the Blackburn defeat as a result of a night out on Boxing Day. There have also been reports that Rooney is on his way out of Old Trafford, which would be a major blow for a United side already struggling for creativity.

Elsewhere, Federico Macheda has joined QPR on loan for the rest of the season, with Mame Biram Diouf expected to follow the Italian out of the Theatre of Dreams for a loan spell to gain some experience.
Tom Cleverley should be back in action soon which will help improve recent displays, along with any other potentials signings if Fergie decides to add to the squad.

It's tough to see the Reds beating City, however, as their home record is outstanding and United out of sorts, but with both sides having numerous players missing, the result is not easy to predict.