United Await FA Cup Third-round Draw

Manchester United fans should look out for ball number 25 in the FA Cup third-round draw, which takes place this Monday evening.

Forty-four teams from the top two divisions enter the competition at this stage, with the Reds hoping for a strong first campaign under Louis van Gaal. Last year's home elimination at the hands of Swansea City was a huge shock, ending a three-year run of progression from the third round. In the previous seasons, United had beaten West Ham in a replay with a great early goal by Wayne Rooney (2012/13), knocked out Manchester City with a thrilling 3-2 away win (2011/12) and engineered Liverpool's exit with a Ryan Giggs penalty (2010/11) at Old Trafford.

Reds midfielder Ander Herrera is eager to sample the FA Cup for the first time as a player, having watched it from afar in Spain. And with no club honours from his time at Athletic Bilbao, the no.21 would love to add a line on his CV by helping United to win the competition for a record 12th time and for the first time since 2004 when Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice) and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored in the final against Millwall.

“I think it’s good that it can be down to just one game – it makes it very emotional,” Herrera told Inside United. “I like the FA Cup, I always watched it in Spain. I want to play in it and it’s a big chance for us to win a trophy. It’s an important competition but all of them are important because we want to win everything.”