Team news for the Premier League match between Manchester United and Hull City at Old Trafford on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 (kick-off 7.45pm).Manchester United team news
Wayne Rooney will hope to make his comeback in Manchester United's attack after recovering from a groin injury and illness that kept him out of the weekend defeat to Sunderland. The England striker was an influential figure in the 4-0 demolition of Norwich and will be a certain starter for Ryan Giggs if back to full fitness.
Robin Van Persie is another back in the first team fold following a month out with a knee injury. He played the last 24 minutes of the weekend defeat at Old Trafford but a start against Hull City may come too soon for the Dutchman.
In what is the final home game of the season for United, perhaps the biggest selection dilemma facing Giggs is over his own involvement. Without a playing contract in place for next season and no guarantees of another, he is weighing up a cameo role off the bench late in the game as a means to say farewell to the club he represented for 24 years.
There will be an end of an era feel about Tuesday's game at Old Trafford. Stalwart Nemanja Vidic will say his goodbyes before joining Inter Milan, while fellow defenders Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra may also be playing their final home game.Possible Manchester United line-up to face Hull City: De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Januzaj; Rooney, Welbeck.Subs: Amos (GK), SMalling, Young, Nani, Mata, Fellaini, Van Persie.
Hull City team news Steve Bruce will have one eye on next weekend's FA Cup final as he aims to deliver Hull City's first league win at Old Trafford. George Boyd, Stephen Quinn, Robert Koren, Matty Fryatt and Yannick Sagbo are all being considered for starts against Manchester United, with a number of changes promised from the side beaten 3-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday. Injuries have taken their toll on the Tigers' squad in the past week with James Chester (hamstring) and Sone Aluko (ankle) both facing heartache in the countdown to Wembley. Bruce is reluctant to rule the pair out with so much at stake, but he is desperate to avoid other key players joining a worrying list of absentees. Allan McGregor (damaged kidney) and Paul McShane (ankle) are two more ruled out of Tuesday's game but are at least providing Bruce with encouragement ahead of the FA Cup final. Providing the last yards towards full fitness hold no demons this week, the pair are likely to feature against Everton in the final game of the Premier League season following long lay-offs. The same hope is not held for Robbie Brady, another who has been missing for much of 2014, as he recovers from a long-standing groin injury. Steve Bruce has promised all of his striking options a chance to show they can replace Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for the FA Cup final and Yannick Sagbo will be keen to take his chance if it comes at Old Trafford. Sagbo's form has fluctuated since the turn of the year and he needs to convince his boss he can again lead the line at Wembley. Although he scored in the semi-final win over Sheffield United, Sagbo has not found the net in the league since November. The 26-year-old's hold-up play will be vital against United and he will asked to use his physical presence to shake up a defence that has seen better years. As well as the potential for Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand to be playing their final games at Old Trafford, it will certainly be the swansong for Nemanja Vidic ahead of a move to Inter Milan.Possible Hull City line-up to face Manchester United: Harper; Elmohamady, Bruce, Davies, Rosenior; Koren, Meyler, Quinn, Boyd; Long, Sagbo.Subs: Jakupovic (GK), Faye, Figueroa, Huddlestone, Livermore, Fryatt, Jelavic.Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)Assistants: A Garratt, D Bryan, Martin Atkinson (fourth official).
Manchester United form guide If there is one measure of how far Manchester United have fallen this season, it comes in their disastrous record at Old Trafford. Being beaten by West Brom, Everton, Newcastle and Spurs was hard enough to take but the heavy losses to fierce rivals Liverpool and Manchester City eventually led to David Moyes' sacking. Ryan Giggs initially helped to redress the balance with a win over Norwich but Sunderland's success at the weekend - their first win at Old Trafford since 1968 - means United have now lost an unprecedented 12 games this season, including seven at home. Not only will United end the year without silverware, the Champions League qualification they once took for granted slipped through their fingers long ago. A huge turnaround is needed to get United back on track and Dutch boss Louis Van Gaal will need to deliver much more than Moyes.
Philip Buckingham's preview Steve Bruce has made a habit of marching into new territories as Hull City manager this season. As well as guiding a team to the FA Cup final for the first time, maiden adventures into Europe are now being planned. Yet there is still one frontier that he has not seen fall. Since leaving Manchester United after nine decorated years as a player, Bruce has never masterminded a victory over his former club in 19 attempts. The wait may go on, too. While United are a shadow of the side that so often got the better of Bruce under Sir Alex Ferguson, the City boss is not travelling to Old Trafford on Tuesday evening with all guns blazing. The FA Cup final may have been just a distraction leading into the last three Premier League games but, with survival finally secured, it now demands all of Bruce's attention. Although an already slender squad, depleted by injuries to Sone Aluko and James Chester, will contain players with points to prove ahead of Wembley, the absence of the Tigers' main men will make Tuesday evening's challenge a stiff one. Bruce will walk shoulder to shoulder down the touchline with Ryan Giggs and for once it will be the City boss, not his former teammate, with much bigger fish to fry.Prediction: Manchester United 2 Hull City 0.
Hull City team news Steve Bruce will have one eye on next weekend's FA Cup final as he aims to deliver Hull City's first league win at Old Trafford. George Boyd, Stephen Quinn, Robert Koren, Matty Fryatt and Yannick Sagbo are all being considered for starts against Manchester United, with a number of changes promised from the side beaten 3-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday. Injuries have taken their toll on the Tigers' squad in the past week with James Chester (hamstring) and Sone Aluko (ankle) both facing heartache in the countdown to Wembley. Bruce is reluctant to rule the pair out with so much at stake, but he is desperate to avoid other key players joining a worrying list of absentees. Allan McGregor (damaged kidney) and Paul McShane (ankle) are two more ruled out of Tuesday's game but are at least providing Bruce with encouragement ahead of the FA Cup final. Providing the last yards towards full fitness hold no demons this week, the pair are likely to feature against Everton in the final game of the Premier League season following long lay-offs. The same hope is not held for Robbie Brady, another who has been missing for much of 2014, as he recovers from a long-standing groin injury. Steve Bruce has promised all of his striking options a chance to show they can replace Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for the FA Cup final and Yannick Sagbo will be keen to take his chance if it comes at Old Trafford. Sagbo's form has fluctuated since the turn of the year and he needs to convince his boss he can again lead the line at Wembley. Although he scored in the semi-final win over Sheffield United, Sagbo has not found the net in the league since November. The 26-year-old's hold-up play will be vital against United and he will asked to use his physical presence to shake up a defence that has seen better years. As well as the potential for Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand to be playing their final games at Old Trafford, it will certainly be the swansong for Nemanja Vidic ahead of a move to Inter Milan.Possible Hull City line-up to face Manchester United: Harper; Elmohamady, Bruce, Davies, Rosenior; Koren, Meyler, Quinn, Boyd; Long, Sagbo.Subs: Jakupovic (GK), Faye, Figueroa, Huddlestone, Livermore, Fryatt, Jelavic.Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)Assistants: A Garratt, D Bryan, Martin Atkinson (fourth official).
Manchester United form guide If there is one measure of how far Manchester United have fallen this season, it comes in their disastrous record at Old Trafford. Being beaten by West Brom, Everton, Newcastle and Spurs was hard enough to take but the heavy losses to fierce rivals Liverpool and Manchester City eventually led to David Moyes' sacking. Ryan Giggs initially helped to redress the balance with a win over Norwich but Sunderland's success at the weekend - their first win at Old Trafford since 1968 - means United have now lost an unprecedented 12 games this season, including seven at home. Not only will United end the year without silverware, the Champions League qualification they once took for granted slipped through their fingers long ago. A huge turnaround is needed to get United back on track and Dutch boss Louis Van Gaal will need to deliver much more than Moyes.
Philip Buckingham's preview Steve Bruce has made a habit of marching into new territories as Hull City manager this season. As well as guiding a team to the FA Cup final for the first time, maiden adventures into Europe are now being planned. Yet there is still one frontier that he has not seen fall. Since leaving Manchester United after nine decorated years as a player, Bruce has never masterminded a victory over his former club in 19 attempts. The wait may go on, too. While United are a shadow of the side that so often got the better of Bruce under Sir Alex Ferguson, the City boss is not travelling to Old Trafford on Tuesday evening with all guns blazing. The FA Cup final may have been just a distraction leading into the last three Premier League games but, with survival finally secured, it now demands all of Bruce's attention. Although an already slender squad, depleted by injuries to Sone Aluko and James Chester, will contain players with points to prove ahead of Wembley, the absence of the Tigers' main men will make Tuesday evening's challenge a stiff one. Bruce will walk shoulder to shoulder down the touchline with Ryan Giggs and for once it will be the City boss, not his former teammate, with much bigger fish to fry.Prediction: Manchester United 2 Hull City 0.
