Having ended an eight-game winless run against Swansea City last time out, Manchester United will turn their attention to the FA Cup this weekend.
Visitors Sheffield United may be a League One club at present, yet in recent years they have been known to play the role of giant-killer.
Man United
© Getty Images
It did not seem likely a fortnight ago, but Louis van Gaal remains in place as Manchester United manager.
The 2-0 defeat on Boxing Day at the hands of Stoke City appeared to be the end of the road for the Dutchman.
However, he has clawed on and four points from home clashes with Chelsea and Swansea since then have gone a little way to lifting some of the Old Trafford gloom.
While there is still considered to be plenty of room left for improvement, performances were also more impressive in those games. Having had a combined 31 shots on goal over the 180 minutes, it would suggest that Van Gaal has handed his players more freedom in the final third than what has been the norm this season.
The focus now, though, will switch to the FA Cup - perhaps United's best chance of winning a trophy this season.
It is a competition that is widely believed to have saved Sir Alex Ferguson's job in 1990 and there is a chance that it could do the same for Van Gaal, who saw his United side exit at the quarter-final stage last term.
As a club, the world's oldest cup has eluded the Red Devils since 2004. It means that stalwarts like Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick may have won the Premier League numerous times and the Champions League once, only to have never got their hands on the FA Cup.
Recent form: LLLLDW
Sheffield United
© Getty Images
It will come as little surprise to read that the Blades are considered to be the big underdogs to prosper on Saturday evening.
Indeed, a lot of the major bookmakers on the high street have priced up Nigel Adkins's men as 17-2 shots.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of reason for the travelling faithful from Yorkshire to be optimistic. They may have lost at home to Peterborough United last time out, but prior to that they had gone five games without defeat - four of which ended in victories.
As for their recent form in the cups, since 2007 Sheffield United have fallen at the round three hurdle just once. On top of that, since January 2014 they have knocked Aston Villa, Fulham, West Ham United, Southampton and Queens Park Rangers - all sides in higher divisions - out of domestic cup competitions.
Unlike their Premier League hosts, the Bramall Lane-based outfit have already played two ties in this year's competition.
They defeated non-League Worcester City in the first round, before Matt Done scored the only goal of the game to advance beyond Oldham Athletic - a game which saw United's Che Adams receive a red card for pushing Oldham's Liam Kelly in the face.
Recent form: DWWWWL
Team News
© Getty Images
Providing that Adnan Januzaj, who has cut short his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, is registered with the Football Association by 5pm on Friday, he will be available to Van Gaal.
If the Belgian is to be included, though, it is likely to be as a substitute.
Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw are all long-term absentees, while Phil Jones and Ashley Young are both regarded as doubts, having limped off against Swansea.
With a trip to Newcastle United to come during the week, it is likely that Van Gaal will rotate his options.
As a result, that could hand a third start of the campaign to young Brazilian playmaker Andreas Pereira following his two-goal outing for the Under-21s during the week.
Similar to Man United, the away side are also in action in midweek when they take on fellow promotion hopefuls Wigan Athletic.
That may lead Adkins to make some changes, but one player that definitely will not feature is Craig Alcock after he joined Doncaster Rovers for an undisclosed fee.
Man United possible starting lineup:
Romero; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Pereira, Herrera, Martial; Rooney
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Long; Brayford, Edgar, Collins, McEveley; Coutts, Basham, Hammond, Woolford; Sammon, Sharp
Head To Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides since Sheffield United's one-season stint in the Premier League in 2006-07.
The Red Devils came out on top twice back then, with Rooney finding the net on both occasions.
In the last 26 years there have been four FA Cup ties involving the duo, with Man United leading the head-to-head record 3-1. The Yorkshire side's one triumph came in 1993 in a game best remembered for Man United defender Steve Bruce missing from the penalty spot.
We say: Man United 2-0 Sheffield United
Man United are not involved in classics these days and that is likely to continue in this encounter. Even so, they should still have enough quality in their ranks to see off the challenge that their visitors will pose in routine fashion.
Liam Apicella
