Crawley face mighty Man United in FA Cup round five

Manchester United's Javier Hernandez (left) celebrates with team-mate Gabriel Obertan after scoring the winning goal during their FA Cup 4th round match vs Southampton at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, on January 29. United's next opponents, Crawley Town, are dreaming of scoring the greatest upset in FA Cup history as they prepare to take on mighty Man United in the 5th round on Saturday.

Crawley Town are dreaming of scoring the greatest upset in FA Cup history as they prepare to take on mighty Manchester United at Old Trafford in the fifth round on Saturday.
Both clubs are nicknamed The Red Devils and they are both managed by a fiery Glaswegian. But beyond that, Manchester United and Crawley have little in common other than Saturday evening's appointment at 5:15pm (1715 GMT).
United have won the league 18 times and the FA Cup on 11 occasions; Crawley's more modest recent successes have come in the Sussex Senior Cup and the Southern League Championship.
United striker Wayne Rooney is believed to be picking up a weekly pay cheque in excess of 200,000 pounds; Crawley's top-earner is thought to be earning around 1,100 pounds a week.
United regularly attract sell-out crowds of 76,000 at Old Trafford; Crawley are lucky to lure more than a 1,000 punters through their gates each week, even though they have sold 9,000 tickets for Saturday's clash.
Given the vast gulf in resources, anything other than a comprehensive United victory on Saturday will qualify as a huge surprise.
And should the unthinkable happen -- a Crawley win -- then the tiny club from Sussex can justifiably lay claim to the biggest shock in FA Cup history.
It's an improbable scenario, but having already accounted for league opposition in the earlier rounds -- Derby, Swindon and Torquay -- Crawley manager Steve Evans is bullishly talking up his team's chances.
"I think that we are genuinely one of the teams that could possibly get a positive result there," the Scot said.
"It will just be Manchester United v Crawley Town, and as far fetched as that sounds, that's what it is.
"We settled on our team last night and we have a reasonable idea of what team they will put out."
Even so, Evans acknowledges that he and his players will be ravaged by nerves as he prepares to take on a side managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, a man whom he refers to simply as "The Master."
"Nervous' I'll be meeting Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 Manchester United fans. Of course I'm nervous," he said.

Chelsea's Didier Drogba chases the ball during their FA Cup fourth round match vs Everton at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north-west England, on January 29. Title holders Chelsea will aim to book their place in the fifth round as they face Everton again, in a fourth round replay, on Saturday.

"I'd be nervous just speaking to the master himself."
Crawley's FA Cup run has not met with universal acclaim however. The club has been dubbed "The Manchester City of non-league football" after an infusion of cash from wealthy Hong Kong-based benefactors who have remained anonymous.
Evans insists the club has not bought success however, claiming that rival clubs have more money to spend on players.
"There has been a lot written (about the owners' money) but we couldn't afford some of the players that (rivals) Luton or Wrexham could," he said.
"I would like to think that we have gone about our business in the best way possible."
While Crawley's David vs Goliath battle takes centre-stage, Arsenal will come back down to earth following their Champions League win over Barcelona with a trip to League One side Leyton Orient in east London.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger plans to rotate his squad for Sunday's visit to Orient, who play in the third tier of English football.
In other FA Cup matches this weekend, holders Chelsea will aim to book their place in the fifth round as they face Everton in a fourth round replay. Manchester City also have a replay, at home against Notts County following a 1-1 draw in their first encounter.
Fixtures
Saturday
Fifth round: Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday, Man Utd v Crawley (1715), Stoke v Brighton
Fourth round replay: Chelsea v Everton
Sunday
Fifth round: Fulham v Bolton, Leyton Orient v Arsenal (1630)
Fourth round replay: Man City v Notts County (1400)
Monday
Fifth round:
West Ham v Burnley

Inter Milan

Inter Milan's Maicon (in No. 13 jersey) celebrates with teammate Dejan Stankovic after Fiorentina scored an own goal during their Italian Serie A match at Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, on February 16. Inter kept up their title push with a crucial 2-1 victory over Fiorentina meaning they could close the gap on leaders AC Milan to two points with victory over Cagliari on Saturday.

Inter Milan kept up their title push in midweek with a crucial 2-1 victory away to Fiorentina meaning they could close the gap on leaders AC Milan to two points with victory over Cagliari on Saturday.
With their bitter city rivals kicking off a day later, Leonardo's men have the chance to keep the pressure on and try to increase the pressure on the rossoneri.
Milan have a tricky trip to Chievo to negotiate as they lick their wounds from their humbling midweek defeat at home to Tottenham in the Champions League.
And they will be watching nervously as Inter -- with eight wins in their last 10 league games -- host the Sardinians.
Leonardo proved just how much this game means to him in midweek as he shouted himself hoarse during the Fiorentina victory, meaning he had to send his assistant Giuseppe Baresi to take care of post-match duties.
And Inter could be boosted by the return of Brazil centre-back Lucio for the game on Saturday.
It is an ominous sign for the other title chasers that Inter have been reeling in everyone else despite their first choice centre-backs (the other being Walter Samuel) sitting on the sidelines.
"I don't know if I'll be back already on Saturday against Cagliari or on Wednesday in the Champions League," said Lucio.
Inter face a rerun of last season's Champions League final in the second round against Germans Bayern Munich.
It means the games are coming thick and fast at this stage of the season and Inter have come in for some stick lately for leaking too many goals.
But Lucio insists they have the right balance as they are also banging them in for fun.
"We've scored many because we're playing in a very attacking way so it's normal to suffer a bit more at the back, the important thing though is to win," he added.
The current gap between Inter and Milan is five points but with the Milan derby to come soon, Lucio believes there is still plenty of time to catch and overtake their neighbours.
"I always believe in my Inter who have played well recently. There's still a lot of games left and the team with the most strength and most quality will win.
"Not everyone has an equal chance as Milan are slightly ahead but we're still dreaming of the title."

Napoli's Edinson Cavani (centre) who scored the two goals against AS Roma celebrates with teammates at the end of their Italian Serie A match, on February 12, at the Olympic stadium in Rome. Napoli host lowly Catania on Sunday night before travelling to Milan a week later.

Milan meanwhile are also having to mop up the furore surrounding Gennaro Gattuso's behaviour against Spurs.
The combative midfielder lost his head by his own admission and headbutted Spurs assistant Joe Jordan, for which he is likely to receive a lengthy European ban.
But their problems pale into insignifance next to Roma who have now lost three games in a row and risk seeing their season fall apart.
Successive defeats to third-placed Inter and second-placed Napoli virtually ruled them out of the title running.
They are now down in eighth and 13 points off the pace, although with a game in hand.
But to make matters worse they were then beaten at home by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and in three weeks time could be left with only the Italian Cup to keep them occupied.
Napoli, on the other hand, continue to go from strength to strength and must be eyeing top spot.
They host lowly Catania on Sunday night before travelling to Milan a week later - though they have a Europa League last 32 second leg clash with Villarreal to negotiate in between with it tied at 0-0 - knowing that a pair of victories could see them take over the scudetto leadership.
However, they will have to do without influential forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, serving a three-game ban for spitting.
Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated):
Saturday
Bologna v Palermo (1700), Inter Milan v Cagliari (1945)
Sunday
Lecce v Juventus (1130), Chievo v AC Milan, Fiorentina v Sampdoria, Genoa v Roma, Lazio v Bari, Parma v Cesena, Udinese v Brescia, Napoli v Catania (1945)

Bayern Munich start make-or-break month at Mainz

Bayern Munich start a run of eight games in four weeks on Saturday at Mainz with sports director Christian Nerlinger warning his side's superstars they must prove their worth both home and away.
Bayern, third in the Bundesliga, are at title-rivals Mainz on Saturday evening, before facing holders Inter Milan away in the Champions League on Wednesday in the first leg of the last 16 tie.
Defending champions Munich then host league leaders Dortmund at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, February 26 as they look to make up the 13-points they trail.
Next comes Schalke 04 in the German Cup semi-final on March 2, Hamburg and Hanover in the Bundesliga, before Bayern host Inter in the second-leg of their Champions League tie on March 15, then Freiburg again in the German league.
"We need a good run of results, and we'll try and win all our matches," said winger Franck Ribery.
By that point, Bayern will know if they are set for a successful season, but their minimum target is second in the Bundesliga behind leaders Dortmund.
"Knockout matches are always juicy, and in the Bundesliga we're continuing to pursue our goal of reaching second place as soon as possible," said Nerlinger.
"The players are well aware of how important it is for us to keep winning in the Bundesliga."
Both goalscorer Mario Gomez and winger Arjen Robben sat out training on Wednesday with mild knocks, but both are expected to face Mainz.
With both Robben and Ribery -- whom the German media have dubbed 'Robbery' -- in the side, Bayern are hoping they can keep their stars fit.
The only long-term absentee now is Ivica Olia, who will not play again this season.
"I hope we're spared even more injury misery," said Nerlinger.
Bayern were impressive in brushing aside Hoffenheim 4-0 last weekend, when Robben scored twice.
On Saturday, Dortmund host St Pauli, who won the Hamburg derby 1-0 on Wednesday for the first time in 34 years against their neighbours, and are looking to get back to winning ways after two consecutive draws.
The hosts are without defender Neven Subotic who is banned after his red card against Kaiserslautern last weekend.
Second-placed Leverkusen are at home to second-from-bottom VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and will be without midfielder Michael Ballack, who is struggling with a knee injury.
Fourth-placed Hanover are home to Kaiserslautern, who are now in the bottom three, on Saturday with strikers Didier Ya Konan of the Ivory Coast and Norway's Mohammed Abdellaoue back in the side after injury niggles.
The north German derby between Hamburg and Werder Bremen on Saturday sees the guests desperate for points as Bremen are just two points above the relegation zone and looking for their first win in five games.
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v St. Pauli, Hamburg v Werder Bremen, Hoffenheim v Cologne, Freiburg v VfL Wolfsburg, Hanover 96 v Kaiserslautern, Mainz 05 v Bayern Munich
Sunday
Bayer Leverkusen v VfB Stuttgart, Borussia M'gladbach v Schalke 04

Real Madrid chase Barca in La Liga title race

Real Madrid have had an extended rest, with their Champions League trip to Lyon not until February 22, ahead of Saturday's home match against promoted Levante.
Madrid have won all 11 of their home matches at the Santiago Bernabeu this season and Portuguese centre-back Pepe believes Mourinho is capable of reeling in Barcelona in the title race.
"The more they attack (Jose) Mourinho, the more we want to win," Pepe said.
Levante, two points above the relegation zone, drew 0-0 with Real earlier in the season but were thrashed 8-0 by them in the King's Cup and will be gunning for revenge.
Levante can take heart from the absence of Real's first-choice goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who is suspended after his red card in the 1-0 win at Espanyol last weekend.
Antonio Adan made his Madrid league debut after Casillas was sent off two minutes into the Espanyol game and the 23-year-old, who came through the ranks at Real, could start against Levante as Jerzy Dudek is still struggling with injury.
In other Saturday's matches, Valencia host Sporting Gijon and Atletico Madrid travel to Real Zaragoza with under-pressure coach Quique Sanchez Flores desperate for a win to save his job.
Atletico have lost their last four league matches to drop to 11th and are seven points off the top six.
Saturday's Fixtures:
Valencia v Sporting Gijon (1700GMT), Real Madrid v Levante (1900GMT), Real Zaragoza v Atletico Madrid (2100GMT)