Exeter boss Alex Inglethorpe admits home advantage might count for little if United turn up at full strength:
"If we had been playing at home against the team that Manchester United put out last weekend I would have said it would have made a big difference," he said. "I'm not sure how their younger players would have dealt with coming to a small place like Exeter. But with people like Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs in contention I'm not sure how phased they will be by coming to our place."
Exeter striker Steve Flack hopes the Spartan surroundings of St James's Park is not to the liking of United's pampered stars:
Flack said: "Coming to our stadium will be a very strange and disorientating experience for them. They're used to playing at one of the best grounds in the world but we have very small dressing-rooms. And they'll find our cold showers a real shock to the system. We have a small tunnel and everything's right on top of you. They won't even have enough room to get changed, and on the pitch the crowd will be breathing down their necks - so it'll be hard for them."