Chris Sutton explains his Man United v Reading prediction

Chris Sutton is backing Manchester United to cruise into the FA Cup fifth round with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Reading on Saturday evening.

The Red Devils head into the game after having claimed a 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final clash on Wednesday night.

United’s big step towards reaching the League Cup final came after the disappointment of their 3-2 loss to Arsenal at The Emirates last weekend, with the Gunners having netted a late winner to snatch victory.

Despite the defeat however, Manchester United remain in fourth place in the table and three points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand and have been showing some encouraging signs of progress under their new manager in recent weeks.

Erik ten Hag’s side are now preparing to take on a Reading team who are 14th in the Championship table and who have only won one of their last five league outings.

And former Chelsea FC star Sutton reckons that the Red Devils are simply going to have too much for the visitors at Old Trafford on Saturday night.

Writing in his column for BBC Sport, Sutton said: “Reading boss Paul Ince won the FA Cup twice with Manchester United but I don’t think his return to Old Trafford will have a happy ending.

“United boss Erik ten Hag is clearly taking both domestic cups seriously and we saw how well they played to beat Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final this week.

“Ten Hag is not just using new signing Wout Weghorst to lead his attack, he is using him properly and looking to give him lots of service in the box. I can see Weghorst getting a few chances in this game too.”

Manchester United moved to bring in Wout Weghorst from Besiktas in the January transfer window on a loan deal until the end of the season.

And the forward opened his account for the Red Devils on his third appearance for the club when he netted in United’s 3-0 victory at Forest in the League Cup on Wednesday night.

Weghorst had scored eight goals and made four assists in 16 league games for Besiktas before his move to Old Trafford – and former Red Devils captain Roy Keane feels that the move will prove fruitful for Ten Hag in the second half of the season.

Speaking on ITV earlier in the week, Keane said: “Man United had to bring someone in. The manager made it clear, there was no money to spend. They lost [Cristiano] Ronaldo, questions marks about Anthony Martial’s fitness… so I can see why they gambled on him.

“I don’t think he’ll be a prolific goal-scorer but if he pops up with the odd important goal like that and he helps Marcus. He’s an international player – he’s no mug!

“The perception about him, because he struggled in a Burnley team that were having a difficult season, people kind of judge him on that. Give the guy a chance, he scored an important goal for United tonight. Good luck to him.

“His lack of pace can be a problem when United are trying to play on the counter-attack but they’ll need to play to his strengths. He linked up well, took his goal well. There’s a reason he came on loan, because he’s obviously not top level. But the important thing is that the manager knows him well. You need characters in your dressing room.”