Manchester United will once again be without star striker Robin van Persie for their League Cup third round clash against bitter rivals Liverpool tonight.
The talismanic striker missed Sunday’s derby clash with City due to a thigh strain and the Dutchman has not recovered in time to help his side recapture their form.
Speaking at this afternoon’s press conference United boss David Moyes confirmed that van Persie would miss the game but admitted that he was hopeful to have him back for the weekend.
“I don’t think he will play, but I think there’s an outside chance for Saturday,” he said.
Moyes also commented on the return of Luis Suarez from a ten-match ban – incurred for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic during a match last season – but didn’t commit to saying whether the Uruguayan would make a difference in tomorrow’s clash.
“I think it means Liverpool have a really good player, so does it change the complexion? I don’t know,” said Moyes.
“I’m not looking at Liverpool too much except that I know the qualities of Luis Suarez are very good.”
There will be a number of United fringe players looking to be involved tonight with Javier Hernandez, Wilfried Zaha and Shinji Kagawa all in desperate need of minutes on the pitch.
This means Moyes is faced with a delicate balancing act when it comes to a selecting a team for a match that fans will be desperate to win.
Moyes may take the traditional United approach of using the competition to give game time to young players however, considering the opponents, the Reds may well line-up with a number of first team stars.
“I think it’s always a big game when you play any cup tie. I think when you play Liverpool, which is a big rivalry, against Manchester United, it could take on a bigger significance than people would expect.
“I think that it’s always been here to win. But I think the Capital Cup in many ways is always a route to try and give as many young players an opportunity as we can.”
In the past ten meetings between the two sides in all competitions, United have won seven and lost three, with all but one of those triumphs coming at Old Trafford.
However, with Moyes it is a different story after only claiming victory in two of his previous 15 encounters with Liverpool as Everton manager.
The League Cup third round tie kicks off on Wednesday at 7.45pm.
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