Put the crowd to the back of your minds and get on with the game.

That's Ian Nolan's advice to his Bradford City team-mates as they face Manchester United in front of the biggest crowd most of them have faced in their careers.

The newly expanded Old Trafford now has a capacity of 67,000, which makes it the biggest ground in Britain and Nolan acknowledges: "When you play Manchester United you are not only playing against 11 players but a 67,000 crowd as well.

"The crowd is a big influence and it only benefits Manchester United. It can be intimidating to other teams, but you have got try to put the crowd to the back of your mind and get on with the game. It is difficult, but you have got to try to do it."

Nolan, who goes into the match fresh from helping Northern Ireland beat Malta at the weekend, has played at Old Trafford five times with Sheffield Wednesday. "The most I have come away with is a 2-2 draw,2 he said. "We were leading 2-1 with five minutes to go when they equalised.

"United's record in the Premiership speaks for itself. They are the best side in the country and they have been for ten years.

"It is going to need a big effort from the other teams to close the gap on them. They are arguably the best club side in the world. Manchester United are going to give you problems when they go forward and their strike force is unbelievable. You can name five or six players who are capable of scoring goals whereas your scoring chances are going to be few and far between and you have got to take them. It is a question of our front men putting their chances away.

"From my point of view, moving to Bradford keeps me playing against the top players. I think if you ask a First Division player where he would like to play he would say he would like to play against the likes of Beckham and Giggs. I think David Beckham is in the top three players in the world and he is only 25. People say you don't reach your peak until you are 28 so he has got the world at his feet. He can only get better - if that is possible.

"I thought we looked a bit tired in the Leicester game after doing so well against Chelsea, but hopefully we are all more refreshed and ready to kick on again."