- 80'
Ronaldo waits while Northampton retrieve a ball, and when it ball eventually comes in Bellion squanders a free header
- 79'
Richardson continues his bright cameo, forcing Harper to tip over via the bar with a long-range piledriver
- 78'
Richards strays offside, and the atmosphere inside Sixfields has fallen flat. Not the day the home fans were hoping for
- 77'
Forlan finds himself in plenty of space from Ronaldo's kick, but he prods straight at Harper with Brown calling for a cut-back
- 76'
Richardson fares rather better with his first touch, setting off on a run down the left which eventually leads to a corner
- 76'
Carroll almost carries the ball outside his own area as he comes out to thwart Smith
- 75'
Bardsley's first foray into the action earns him a yellow card for a lunge on Smith
- 73'
Ronaldo fools another couple of defenders with a lovely slalom across the box, but he can't force a pass through to Fletcher
- 72'
Here come the changes. Youngster Phil Bardsley is on for Silvestre, and Scholes makes way for Kieran Richardson. Meanwhile, Paul Harsley replaces Lincoln for Northampton
- 71'
Alex Ferguson is preparing a couple of substitutes, but no-one seems too keen to come off!
- 70'
Richards gets on the end of a Smith centre from the right, but his header is yards over Carroll's bar
- 70'
Strong run from Hargreaves, and it needs a Butt foul to stop him. Town looking to press forward
- 68'
At last! O'Shea's deep cross is nodded into the six-yard box by Ronaldo, and Forlan can't miss from two yards out. His day just got much better! 3-0 to United
- 66'
Forlan pokes a ball through to his left, when two runners from deep are screaming for it on the right. Not his best day so far
- 65'
Ronaldo bears down menacingly on the home defence, but Chambers stands his ground to cut out an attempted pass to Bellion
- 64'
Smith, Town's hero in the last round, is seeing a lot more of the ball, and wins a foul from O'Shea
- 63'
Testing cross from Lyttle looks for Chambers flying forward from left-back. Only a superb defensive header from Ronaldo denies him
- 62'
Harper claims a Ronaldo cross and looks for Richards with a quick clearance downfield. It's overhit, though, and runs straight through to Carroll
- 60'
Suddenly a bit of confidence among the Northampton players, and Richards comes agonisingly close to pulling one back, bludgeoning a half-volley against Carroll's crossbar
- 59'
Smith's cross from the left causes mayhem in the United box, but the loose ball is too high for Asamoah to nod goalwards
- 58'
Ronaldo sticks the ball in the net to finish a fine period of posession, but the linesman flags him offside
- 57'
Slightly more promising from Town as Lincoln tries to muscle through on the left side of the box. Still no sign of a shot at goal, though
- 55'
Fletcher, who has had a quiet game, tries to make room for a shot, but Hargreaves snaps into the tackle. The own goal hasn't affected him badly
- 54'
Searching ball from Willmott gives Richards something to chase, but Carroll is out smartly
- 53'
Asamoah has dropped back to the right of midfield since half-time, and his first run at Fortune is an unsuccessful one
- 52'
PLay finally resumes following a long delay. Town have nothing to lose now, but Chambers' first touch of the ball is poor and United have it back
- 50'
It goes from bad to worse for Town. Carruthers has failed to get up since taking a knock when the goal went in, and he departs Sixfields on a stretcher and in a neck brace to be replaced by Chambers
- 47'
Game over? It should be. Another scrappy, scrappy goal as Ronaldo's corner is prodded past his own keeper by Hargreaves. It's an uphill battle now...
- 47'
United straight on the attack, and Scholes breaks from midfield to thunder in a 20-yarder. Harper can't hold it and it's hacked behind
- 46'
The Cobblers kick off the second half. Can they produce a bit more going forward after the break?
- 45'
Northampton boss Colin Calderwood has thrown on a striker - Mark Richards - for midfielder Reeves
- 45'
Half-time. Harper's penalty save gave the home fans something to shout about early on, but Northampton will be happy to go in only a goal down. But for some dreadful finishing from United's second-stringers, it would have been more
- 45'
Butt goes in heavily on Reeves, leading the Northampton man's colleague Hargreaves to take umbrage. A bit of pushing and shoving follows, but ref Bennett keeps his book pocketed
- 45'
Forlan won't be denied a shot this time, but his left-footed curler is off target and Harper watches it go harmlessly past the post
- 45'
United trying to turn the screw before the break, but Lyttle's last-ditch header denies Forlan a chance
- 43'
Reeves needs a bit of treatment after clashing heads with Brown, but he's quickly on his feet
- 43'
United's new striker Louis Saha is cup-tied, but he's in the stands watching from the warmth of a club jacket
- 42'
Bellion gets to the byline and stands a cross up to the far post for Butt, but the skipper's header is weak
- 41'
Lyttle's punt forward searches out Asamoah, but the tiny striker is no match for a combination of Brown and Fortune in the air
- 39'
Half an attempt at a break from Northampton, but it's a hopeful long ball more than anything, and Fortune mops up easily
- 38'
Silvestre's strike has silenced Sixfields, and the Town players don't look to have too much threat about them at the moment
- 36'
Ronaldo is being given the ball at every opportunity. He wins yet another corner, but the Cobblers clear
- 35'
United threatening to overwhelm the home side, and O'Shea lopes forward to force another corner. This time Hargreaves hacks clear
- 34'
Goal! The corner is headed away, but it's worked back in to Ronaldo, who's low curler rebouds off Harper and a defender and in off Silvestre's shins. It's been coming, but that's unfortunate for Northampton
- 33'
Reid gets back from midfield to knock Fortune's cross behind for a corner
- 32'
Brown jumps for, and misses a long Lyttle free-kick, but Northampton aren't alert enough to take advantage
- 31'
Asamoah gets between Brown and Silvestre - not for the first time - but again he can't find an end product
- 30'
A no-nonsense thump from skipper Reid sends the ball sailing over the stand towards Northampton town centre
- 29'
How many chances do they need? Scholes' raking pass sends Forlan away and he sends Bellion free on the keeper. Again, the side-footed finish is poor
- 28'
Stunning piece of skill from Asamoah leaves Fortune trailing, but his poked through ball is straight at Brown
- 27'
Bellion is through again, but the Frenchman had strayed half a yard offside
- 26'
Blessed relief for Northampton and Carruthers as the linesman flags for a shirt-tug to halt Ronaldo in full flight
- 25'
Harper out again to claim a Fortune cross, and he holds the ball to try and give his side a bit of respite
- 24'
Ronaldo goes on another dribble, but his attempt to squeeze a shot in at the near post doesn't get past Harper
- 23'
United are really threatening, but they can't find a finsh just now. Bellion is the guilty party this time, failing to get any purchase on a free header from Ronaldo's centre
- 22'
Hargreaves is furious as Bennett whistles for a foul on Scholes, prompting the ref to give him a firm talking-to
- 21'
This time it's O'Shea swinging a lovely ball in from the right. Forlan gets a firm head on it, but Harper's handling is safe and sure
- 20'
Bellion chases a Ronaldo pass whippet-like down the right, and crosses well for Scholes, but the England man heads a long way wide
- 19'
A chance for the home side. Smith lofts a ball through for Asamoah to chase. He gets there before Carroll but the United keeper does enough to block his attempt at a lob
- 17'
The first real hefty challenge of the game as Reeves flies in on Fletcher. Ref Bennett decides a ticking-off will suffice
- 16'
Another beautiful pass from Butt, but Ronaldo loses control of the ball attempting a fifth successive stepover and Carruthers can clear
- 15'
Ronaldo has pace, but he's not quick enough to catch an overhit through-ball from Bellion
- 14'
United immediately break down the other end, but Ronaldo fares little better than his less illustrious opponent, firing high and wide from 12 yards
- 13'
Asamoah looks a little livewire. He plays a neat one-two with Smith but slashes his shot wide of the near post
- 12'
Better period of possession for the visitors, until Ronaldo's attempt at a stepover ends with him face down on the Sixfields turf
- 11'
United's defence has been strong all season, but with Carroll behind them they're looking a little shakier than usual
- 10'
Silvestre dallies on the ball deep in his own half, and Asamoah almost hustles him into a mistake
- 9'
Lyttle's defensive header drops for Bellion, who lays it to Forlan. Dreadful side-footed effort from the Uruguayan, who's having a nightmare early on
- 8'
Butt is wearing the captain's armband and sprays a lovely pass down the right for Forlan. Nothing doing, though
- 7'
Bellion has plenty to prove on a rare outing. He's started in lively fashion, and is troubling the home side with his pace
- 6'
Forlan breaks the offside trap and cuts in on his left foot. It's another weak effort but it's deflected behind for a corner. Cleared.
- 5'
Northampton still trying to pass the ball about despite the hectic opening
- 4'
Ronaldo picks up the ball following the corner and bends a cross-cum-shot just wide from the angle of the box
- 3'
It's saved! Forlan steps up casually but Harper goes to his right to parry a half-hearted kick
- 3'
Not the start they wanted! Fortune swings in a cross from the left and ref Bennett takes the brave decision of awarding a push by Carruthers on Ronaldo. Penalty!
- 2'
Decent start from the Cobblers, with Asamoah opening his box of tricks. He jinks into the box from the right but scuffs the shot
- 1'
Referee Steve Bennett gets things under way, and there's an early feel of the ball for home keeper Harper
Van Nistelrooy does not even make the bench for United, so it's down to Forlan and Bellion to provide the firepower
Out come the teams at a packed Sixfields. The home fans are dreaming of a shock result, but when these two teams met in the same competition back in 1970, United triumphed 8-2
Man Utd: Carroll, O'Shea, Brown, Silvestre, Fortune, Bellion, Fletcher, Butt, Scholes, Ronaldo, Forlan.
Subs: Howard, Keane, Richardson, Pugh, Bardsley.
Northampton: Harper, Reid, Sampson, Willmott, Carruthers, Lyttle, Hargreaves, Lincoln, Smith, Asamoah, Reeves.
Subs: Thompson, Chambers, Richards, Vieira, Harsley.
All the action from Sixfields, kicking off at 16.05 GMT on Sunday.
