Scene-setter: Anthony Martial scored a dramatic equaliser to conclude last month's tense 1-1 draw at Old Trafford and set up this intriguing replay, with the winners set to face Everton in the semi-final at Wembley. The Reds are in need of a big morale boost following Sunday’s 3-0 league defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, the day after West Ham were held 3-3 by Arsenal in another top-six clash.
Form guide: United and West Ham have already drawn twice in this campaign, both at Old Trafford, in the league and FA Cup. Van Gaal’s men were also held at Upton Park last season, 2-2, and encouragingly the Reds have not lost at the East London venue in five previous trips. The Hammers are sixth in the Barclays Premier League and manager Slaven Bilic still harbours hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. The Croatian’s team are without a win in four matches, however, following a run of entertaining score draws against Manchester City, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
Latest team news: Tim Fosu-Mensah impressed as a starter at right-back against Tottenham but the young Dutchman was unfortunately forced to exit on 68 minutes through injury, so it remains to be seen whether he is fit enough to play. Elsewhere, Wayne Rooney registered 61 minutes for the Under-21s on Monday night when Phil Jones played a full match at Old Trafford. West Ham are set to be without Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Sam Byram, James Collins and Carl Jenkinson.
View from the dressing room: “I know how important the FA Cup is for our fans. We don’t have players in the dressing room who have won it for United. I was talking to Michael Carrick about it and he told me he wants to win and get to Wembley. We realise how important it is for us as players and for our fans to win a trophy.” – Ander Herrera
View from the opposition: “Our attention is on Manchester United, as we would love to give our fans a Wembley day out. Then we have the potential champions in Leicester next weekend. The team spirit is great and we just need to keep on going.” – Mark Noble
Danger man: Andy Carroll scored a sensational hat-trick against Arsenal at the weekend and the towering striker is determined to play his way into England’s Euro 2016 squad this summer. His manager, Bilic, has been unrelenting in his praise but has also challenged the striker to maintain full fitness, having suffered a series of injuries in recent seasons. “What more can I say about Andy Carroll?” the Hammers boss said. “If he goes to bed at ten, he should go to bed at nine-thirty now! He has to do something, but I am not a medical expert or voodoo – I’m just his manager speaking about that and I know he loves football. Will he start against Man United? I hope he’s going to be fit. I don’t think Sakho or Song will be fit for that game.”
Sub-plots: Wednesday’s match will be the last-ever FA Cup tie at Upton Park ahead of West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium next season. Coincidentally, the Reds will also feature in the final Premier League game at the famous old ground on 10 May.
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