
It's January. It's FA Cup third-round weekend. And that can only mean one thing... Manchester United are on the telly. Again.

The Red Devils' clash with Reading on Saturday will be the club's 55th consecutive televised match in the competition - a record which stretches all the way back to 2005.

During that run - which started with a victory over Exeter City back in the days when a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo was still running amok at Old Trafford - United have won 36, drawn seven and lost 11.

Manchester United entertain Reading in the FA Cup on Saturday, with the game live on TV

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Exeter in the first of 54 consecutive FA Cup games featuring United which have been screened live on television

And you would have had the chance to watch every single second live, if you really wanted to.

Most of the games have been screened by the BBC, with Auntie providing the platform for 26 ties - including that first one at St James Park 12 years ago.

Research by bettingexpert.com highlights how ITV have hosted 16 of United's outings during this streak, with BT Sport already up to seven. The run is so long that now-defunct Setanta and ESPN, who only briefly broadcast live football in the UK, both managed to show two games each.

Amazingly, perhaps even ludicrously, the clash between Reading and United will be the fourth time the two sides have squared up in front of the TV cameras in the FA Cup since 2005.

At least this time around there is something of an intriguing back story to the meeting - with former United defender Jaap Stam now in charge of the Berkshire club.

Jose Mourinho takes charge of his first FA Cup match as United manager this weekend

The Dutchman will be hoping to secure a shock victory in Manchester and to do so his side will need to keep quiet a strikeforce which could feature Wayne Rooney.

The England captain is back in training after injuring his knee during the festive period and, if he gets onto the pitch, will be looking to add to the 21 goals he's scored for United during their 54-game stretch of televised FA Cup outings.

Rooney is 10 clear of his nearest rival, Ronaldo, in that respect, with Javier Hernandez third on the list with six goals.

Bizarrely, Kieran Richardson is joint fourth, having netted four times at an average of one every other match during the run.

Jose Mourinho, who starts his pursuit of a second FA Cup title a decade after winning the trophy for the first time with Chelsea, takes charge of his first United match in the competition.

Louis van Gaal had a win ratio of 75 per cent from all his FA Cup games in charge of United

David Moyes lost his one and only FA Cup game in charge of the club against Swansea

The three other men to have been in the Old Trafford hotseat in the time TV executives have been obsessed with the club have vastly different records.

Poor old David Moyes 'boasts' a win percentage of nil, having lost his solitary game in the competition against Swansea, while the great Sir Alex Ferguson - in charge on that cold night in Devon when it all 'began' - won two-thirds of the matches over which he presided.

But it is Louis van Gaal who tops the list. Victory in last season's tournament took his win rate to 75 per cent.

Of course, Mourinho can shoot to the top of the list with a win this weekend, which makes the statistic pretty daft. But so is a 55-game stretch on TV.