by MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — January new recruit Juan Mata has been handed his Manchester United debut from the start, as he was named in the starting line up for the Premier League clash with Cardiff City.
Premier League: Manchester United vs. Cardiff City – Jan. 28 @ 2:45 PM ET Live on NBA Sports Live Extra,talkSports.com. Following Live EPL Soccer Scores
Returning also is striker Robin van Persie, while Wayne Rooney, who returned to training this week as well, starts on the bench and will play some part as the game progresses.
Ashley Young also starts ahead of Adnan Januzaj, with Ryan Giggs, who will make his 800th start for Manchester United, Antonio Valencia and Phil Jones playing in the midfield as well.
Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans play at center-back, while Shinji Kagawa is on the bench.
Meanwhile, for Cardiff City, former Man United forward Fraizer Campbell leads the attack as ex-United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjær makes a return to Old Trafford for the first time as a manager in the Premier League.
Another former Manchester United player, Magnus Wolff Eikrem, is on the bench tonight for Cardiff.
Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Jones, Giggs, Young, Mata, Van Persie. Subs: Lindegaard, Cleverley, Fletcher, Januzaj, Kagawa, Hernandez, Rooney.
Cardiff: Marshall, Caulker, Hudson, John, McNaughton, Medel, Whittingham, Noone, Mutch, Bellamy, Campbell. Subs: Lewis, Turner, Kim, Eikrem, Gunnarsson, Daehli, Berget.
