Yeovil v Manchester United: FA Cup tie to be 'biggest game'

Yeovil are preparing for unprecedented ticket demand for their FA Cup clash with Premier League Manchester United.

League One Glovers beat Accrington in a replay to book a third-round tie with the 11-time Cup winners on 4 January.

Yeovil's Huish Park home has a capacity of 9,500 and 1,800 tickets will be allocated to away fans, with 4,500 being made available for general sale.

The club are also expecting an uptake in half-season tickets from Somerset-based Manchester United fans.

"If you get a half-season ticket, you've got a chance to get a ticket for Man Utd," commercial manager Dave Linney told BBC Points West.

"I'm sure there will be a number of Man Utd fans in this area buying them and hopefully we might convert a couple."

He added: "It's the core supporters and the core business people, who have been involved with the club through good and bad, that we want to look after.

"We want to make sure they don't miss out on what is one of the biggest games in this club's history."

The last time Yeovil met Manchester United in the competition was in 1949, when the Reds won 8-0 at Maine Road - their temporary base after the Manchester Blitz.

Yeovil's game against Manchester United will be 11 years to the day since they hosted Gerard Houllier's Liverpool in the FA Cup third round, when the Glovers lost 2-0.

The Glovers had one of the smallest budgets and attendances in the Championship last season and they made an immediate return to League One after finishing bottom of the table.

The Somerset club, who were playing in non-league 11 years ago, are expecting to make a £500,000 turnover from the game - including £27,000 from Tuesday's 2-0 second-round win against Accrington and a further £144,000 from their televised game with United.

The Glovers are currently 21st in the League One standings, and manager Gary Johnson is aware of what the FA Cup prize money can do to help the club.

"I didn't want to use the word massive for finances but it is for a club like us," said Johnson, who managed Yeovil in their non-league days.

"You can't sell a player for a quarter of a million, or half a million, so you have to get it in other ways.

"If the FA Cup draw is good to you, then it's the only other way of getting it. We've got it and I'm sure the directors will be smiling. They've got what they were praying for."