Van Persie to miss Manchester United-Liverpool clash

MANCHESTER United manager David Moyes has confirmed Robin van Persie will miss tonight’s Capital One Cup third-round tie with Liverpool.

Van Persie sat out Sunday’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City with a groin injury. And Moyes does not expect to have the Dutchman available until this weekend’s Premier League encounter with West Brom at the earliest. “I don’t think he will play on Wednesday,” said Moyes. “He will have an outside chance for Saturday.”

Wayne Rooney has suggested this evening’s game is the ideal fixture to bounce back from such a shattering defeat. And it is clear Moyes has no desire to dwell on it.

“It has gone now,” he said. “I can’t do anything about it. “We have moved on and we get ready for the next game.”

Asked whether Sunday’s performance shocked him, Moyes replied: “Yes. It did. But when you have been a football manager for the amount of time I have you are always going to have shocks. I have had lots and I have no doubt there will be more in the future. That is the way football is.”

While United will have to do without Van Persie, Liverpool welcome back Luis Suarez following a ten-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in April.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has not confirmed whether Suarez will start at Old Trafford, but said: “We are getting a £50-60million striker back in the team and that is exciting for us. This is a player who can come in and make a difference for us.

“All you can do now is judge him by his performances on the field. The measure for Luis now is on the field. His way to say sorry or make any contribution back to the supporters is to play with his heart 100 per cent and score goals and make this team successful and I am confident that will happen.”

Elsewhere tonight, Swansea start their defence of the Capital One Cup at Birmingham City.

The Swans ended their 101-year wait for one of the domestic game’s main pieces of silverware when they beat Bradford 5-0 at Wembley in February. Manager Michael Laudrup said yesterday: “Last year we needed four wins, this season we come in a stage later so we only need three wins to get to a semi-final. We have to try and do that again.”

Newcastle United will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat by Hull City when they host Leeds United, while Mark Hughes’ Stoke City side take on League One side Tranmere Rovers.