Bad-boy Rooney suspended for FA Cup replay

Manchester - Manchester United will be without two suspended forwards - Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo - for Wednesday's third-round FA Cup replay against semi-pro club Burton Albion.

That's good for Burton Albion, who are ranked 105 places behind United in English soccer's hierarchy.

"In some ways - from our point of view - it's nice they'll be missing one or two like Wayne Rooney," Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough said. "But they've still got such a huge squad to choose from.

"We want to put on another good show. But we're expecting them to come out with all guns blazing."

Wednesday's match before 67 000 at Old Trafford will be the tiny club's most lucrative and prestigious, giving part-time players a chance to face one of the game's biggest names.

Burton held United to an embarrassing 0-0 draw in the first leg. A loss in the second leg would be one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history and worsen an already poor season for the Red Devils.

United are out of the Champions League, 16 points behind Chelsea in the league and were battered 3-1 on Saturday by cross-town rival Manchester City. That loss left United winless this year.

This is the second straight season that 11-time FA Cup winners Manchester United have been embarrassed by a semi-pro team. Last season, United drew 0-0 with non-league Exeter before winning the replay and going on to lose the final against Arsenal on penalties.

Hoping for a lift, United manager Alex Ferguson may give Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic his first start since moving on a £7-million (about R74-million) transfer from Spartak Moscow.

United will also be without midfielders Paul Scholes and Park Ji-sung. Scholes is suffering with blurred vision and the South Korean has a knee injury.

Seven replays were set for Tuesday.

In Wednesday's other replay, Millwall plays at Everton. - Sapa-AP