Newcastle United v Manchester United
The FA Cup, Semi-Finals
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
17 April 2005, 2pm



Ruud van Nistelrooy is determined to re-discover his form when it matters most against Newcastle in The FA Cup Semi-Final - and repeat his glories of last year.

The Manchester United striker scored twice in last year's Final against Millwall, which United won 3-0, and will almost certainly be his team's key player at Cardiff on Sunday, too.

After scoring an incredible 110 goals during his first three seasons at Old Trafford, expectations were high that the prolific forward could break the 30-goal barrier again this year.

But in fact he has only managed 12 goals this campaign, due to a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The Manchester United forward has been troubled with hernia and Achilles problems which have stopped him getting amongst the goals in both domestic and European competitions.

However, the omens looked good for van Nistelrooy and United when he got back on the goalscoring trail for Holland in a 2-0 World Cup win over Armenia recently.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson decided to keep him on the bench during the surprise 2-0 defeat against Norwich at Carrow Road last Saturday. But you can be sure van Nistelrooy will be in the starting line-up when United face Newcastle at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

And the Newcastle defence should be a little concerned because van Nistelrooy has now gone seven games for United without a goal - the longest run since he joined United in 2001.

There is no doubting van Nistelrooy's ability in front of goal, however, and his ability to turn a game at any stage during the 90 minutes is world renowned.

The former PSV forward is the complete striker and can score goals both inside and outside the box. So United will certainly be hoping their star forward can regain his best form at a crucial time of the season and help them reach The FA Cup Final for the second season in a row.