One of the most intriguing ties of the third round of the FA Cup sees Jaap Stam’s Reading take on his former club Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Dutchman enjoyed a successful spell with the Red Devils from 1998-2001, including winning the famous treble in 1999, and the former centre-back will be looking forward to returning to his old hunting ground this weekend.
In his first full managerial role, Stam has impressed and his Royals side are flying in the Championship – they are currently in third position and just six points behind second-placed Newcastle United in the last automatic promotion spot.
On top of this, the Berkshire outfit come into the tie in fine form having won nine of their last eleven league matches, while they completed a remarkable turnaround to beat Bristol City 3-2 at Ashton Gate on Monday.
They will face a tough task to cause an upset against Jose Mourinho’s men, though, with the Red Devils picking up six consecutive wins in the Premier League, including Monday’s 2-0 success against West Ham at the London Stadium.
Nevertheless, here are THREE reasons Reading could shock United on Saturday…
They are flying
After finishing in 17th position in the Championship last season, Reading weren’t tipped to be fighting for promotion this term, but as we enter 2017 that is exactly what they are doing as they go head-to-head with the likes of Newcastle.
They are a confident outfit who have regularly shown their quality under the leadership of Jaap Stam – evident in recent weeks as they have won nine of their last eleven league matches, and their last three.
They never give up
Especially in recent times, this Reading side have shown that they have a never-say-die attitude and will fight for the whole 90 minutes during matches – it is a tactic that has paid off, too.
Jaap Stam’s men were twice pegged back by Blackburn at Ewood Park in December before George Evans popped up with an injury-time winner while Callum Harriott also scored in added-on time in the 3-1 win against Norwich last month.
The best was yet to come, though. With Reading trailing 2-0 at Bristol City on Monday with 18 minutes left to play. Liam Kelly’s goal was added to by a brace by Yann Kermorgant – with the Frenchman’s second and the winner coming in… yes, you’ve guessed it, stoppage time.
Man United could rest key players
As they are currently flying in the Premier League and in the middle of a six-match winning run, Man United manager Jose Mourinho may see a cup tie at home against Championship opposition as an opportunity to rest some of his key men and give other squad members a chance to impress and stake a claim for a starting spot.
If the Portuguese boss does choose to leave some of his stars out of the starting XI – such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba – Jaap Stam will know that it will be an even better opportunity for his Royals side to cause an upset at Old Trafford.