JAAP STAM will return to Old Trafford when he takes his Reading side to face Manchester United in January.
Following on from the EFL Cup trip to Arsenal in October, Royals have been handed a second glamorous cup tie of the season with a journey up north in the third round of the FA Cup.
In one of the ties of the round, Stam will return to the club with whom he won this trophy as part of the historic treble winning season in 1999.
Royals have good recent history in the FA Cup with runs to the semi-finals and quarter-finals in the last two seasons.
But the Berkshire outfit have to go all the way back to 1927 for their only ever win over United with a 2-1 FA Cup success.
There have been 14 meetings between the two since with four draws and Man Utd winning 10, including a 1-0 victory in the most recent clash in 2013 when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal.
This will be the first game of United’s defence of the trophy they won at Wembley in May with an extra time win over Crystal Palace.
The tie will be played between January 6-9, which will soon be confirmed once ties have been chosen for television coverage.
FA Cup round 3 draw:
Ipswich Town v Lincoln City
Barrow v Rochdale
Manchester United v Reading
Hull City v Swansea City
Sunderland v Burnley
Queens Park Rangers v Blackburn Rovers
Millwall v Bournemouth
West Ham United v Manchester City
Brighton and Hove Albion v MK Dons/Charlton
Blackpool v Barnsley
Wigan Athletic v Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City v Newcastle United
Chelsea v Peterborough/Notts County
Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday
West Bromwich Albion v Derby County
Everton v Leicester City
Liverpool v Newport/Plymouth
Wycombe Wanderers v Northampton/Stourbridge
Watford v Burton Albion
Preston North End v Arsenal
Cardiff City v Fulham
Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Cambridge United v Leeds United
Bristol City v Shrewsbury/Fleetwood
Huddersfield Town v Port Vale
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Brentford v Halifax/Eastleigh
Bolton Wanderers v Crystal Palace
Norwich City v Southampton
Sutton United v AFC Wimbledon
Accrington Stanley v Luton Town
Rotherham United v Oxford/Macclesfield
