Amongst the large number of squad changes Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to make for Manchester United’s Carling Cup meeting with West Ham, nobody will be looking forward to the quarter final more than defender Wes Brown. First team appearances are few and far between these days making the veteran eager to get the most of the opportunities he gets before his advancing years catch up. Now past his 31st birthday and with his present contract due to expire at the end of next season, Brown is not sure how much time he has left at Old Trafford. There have even been suggestions that the former England international could be leaving United during one of the next two transfer windows.

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The Premier League was introduced to English football in 1992-93 with Manchester United claiming the first two titles but then a determined Blackburn Rovers came along in 1994-95 to prevent a hat trick.  Together with a moment of madness from cult hero Eric Cantona at Crystal Palace, a third successive title was narrowly prevented by a big spending Rovers side managed by former Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish.

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If previous meetings between Manchester United and West Ham are any indication, there should be plenty of goals put away on Saturday. The two clubs have often turned on the entertainment with scorelines of 5-3 at Upton Park and 6-0 at Old Trafford but the 7-1 on the first April Fools day of the ‘noughties’ stands out as the biggest defeat the Hammers ever suffered at the hands of United. One of the highlights was Paul Scholes’ first hat trick for the club but a young Rio Ferdinand lining up in the West Ham defence must have wondered what hit him. Perhaps the biggest sympathy must go to Hammers goalkeeper Craig Forrest who was on the receiving end of the heaviest Premiership defeat in history when Ipswich went down 9-0 to United five years earlier.

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