Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is on the brink of a new Premiership record. Van der Sar, 38, is set to return to the starting line-up against West Bromwich Albion after being rested for the Carling Cup and FA Cup victories over Derby and Tottenham over the past seven days.

And if he goes 84 minutes at The Hawthorns without conceding, he will break Petr Cech's Premier League shut-out record of 1,025 minutes, set in 2005.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans have been superb for some time now and their performances in front of Edwin have helped us equal Chelsea's record of 10 consecutive League games without conceding.

"Edwin's calmness and concentration are doing us a power of good and he's playing as well as he has ever done. This season, I've given him breaks and he didn't like it at first, but I think he sees the wisdom now in me nursing a player of his age through the season.

"He has certainly been at a peak during our recent run."