| Manchester United (1st) v Sunderland (8th) | |||
| Last Season: 06/12/08, Man Utd 1 - 0 Sunderland L W W W W W Form L W L W L W | |||
Champions Manchester United will be aiming to extend their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League as they host a Sunderland side who have won three of their last five matches.
Ben Foster will return to the Manchester United starting line-up for Saturday's Barclays Premier League encounter with Sunderland.
The England keeper sat out the Champions League win over Wolfsburg but has been assured on his place to face the Black Cats by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Michael Owen (groin) is out, while Edwin van der Sar (broken finger) and Rafael Da Silva (shoulder) are nearing full fitness after missing the entire season so far.
Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole could face the league leaders after returning to match fitness.
The 21-year-old was withdrawn at half-time during Sunday's 5-2 victory over Wolverhampton having trained for just one day in the previous two-and-a-half weeks because of a heel injury.
Central defender John Mensah is struggling with a calf problem, but full-back Phil Bardsley, who was sent home with a virus at the weekend, has recovered.
Man Utd: Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, O'Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs, Nani, Rooney, Berbatov.
Sunderland: Gordon, Fulop, Bardsley, McCartney, Ferdinand, Turner, Nosworthy, Da Silva, Mensah, Cana, Cattermole, Richardson, Reid, Malbranque, Henderson, Bent, Jones, Campbell, Murphy, Healy.
