United Can Make Cup History Against Chelsea

Manchester United could make history by fielding a fourth substitute in the FA Cup for the first time when the Reds take on Chelsea in Monday's quarter-final at Stamford Bridge.

After first being trialled at last summer's Copa America, the rule change means clubs will be allowed to introduce an additional player from the bench during extra-time, and will come into play for the remainder of this season's competition.

Aimed at bringing "extra intrigue and interest" to the world's oldest cup tournament, the new rule came to light back in December, when Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata became the first-ever fourth substitute in competitive men's football, replacing former Reds attacker Cristiano Ronaldo in extra-time of the Club World Cup final.

As United prepare for another important FA Cup clash, we've delved into the history books for a closer look at how our substitutes have fared in the competition...

OUR FIRST-EVER FA CUP SUBSTITUTE
Substitutes, in the modern sense, first came into play during the 1954 World Cup, but weren't written into the FA Cup rulebook until the start of the 1967/68 campaign, and were initially only allowed following injuries. Having been knocked out by Tottenham in the third round, and following further alterations to allow changes for any reason, United's first substitution in the competition didn't come until January 1969, when David Sadler replaced George Best in a 3-1 win at Exeter. It came some four years after John Fitzpatrick had become the club's first-ever substitute, in a 5-1 league defeat to Spurs.

CUP FINAL SUBSTITUTES
David McCreery would become the first United sub to appear in an FA Cup final when replacing Gordon Hill against Southampton in 1976, while Tommy Docherty made the same switch a season later against Liverpool. The rule was changed again, however, for the 1986/87 season, with teams permitted to use up to two named substitutes for any reason in League and FA Cup matches. 

This proved the thin edge of a wedge, though. Regular tweaks continued to occur, starting with allowing two outfield subs plus a goalkeeper, and ending in a more familiar three substitutes. With this format in place, Brian McClair memorably became the first substitute to score in a final for the Reds in 1994, against Chelsea, and Teddy Sheringham repeated the feat five years later.

SUPER SUBS
Unsurprisingly, Sheringham is among the club's top goalscorers as an FA Cup substitute - his tally of three goals is matched only by former Reds striker and famed super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and current captain Wayne Rooney. Although he's United's second-highest scorer from the bench in all competitions with 17 strikes, Javier Hernandez made just two substitute appearances in the FA Cup between 2010 and 2015.

Reds legend Paul Scholes (17) tops the list for FA Cup appearances made for United from the bench, ahead of Solskjaer (15) - who scored a remarkable 29 goals as a substitute in all competitions for the Reds - and Ryan Giggs (12), our all-time appearance-maker both as a starter and as a replacement. As for the club's current first-team stars, Rooney and Antonio Valencia lead the way with seven sub appearances apiece.

FURTHER CHANGES
In another change to this season's rules, the FA Cup is also adopting a straight knock-out format from the quarter-finals onwards, meaning Monday's match at Stamford Bridge must be settled on the night. With United looking to become just the third post-war team to retain the trophy on more than one occasion, our clash against Chelsea could well be one for the history books.