Etherington rates the Stamford Bridge rout two weeks ago as one of the worst days of his career but he is adamant Stoke will not suffer a similar fate when they face the other Premier League title contender.
Chelsea will finish the season on top with a home victory over Wigan but United can still come out on top if Latics get a result at Stamford Bridge, so they are likely to on top form tomorrow.
Etherington, though, voted the Potters' player of the season, is determined to right the wrongs of what happened a fortnight ago.
"Most people will think we're going there on a hiding to nothing but after what happened against Chelsea, I'm sure the manager will remind us of that and we'll be looking to go there and do ourselves justice because we didn't against Chelsea," he said.
"It was one of the worst days of my footballing career, without a doubt, it was horrible to get beaten in that way and play the way we did. It was awful to be honest.
"It lived with me for a few days after as well, it's hard to get it out of your head.
"It was a bad day at the office for everyone concerned and we'll be looking to put that right. And prove to ourselves that the Chelsea game was just a one off.
"And if you look at our reaction since that game - against Everton and Fulham - picking up two clean sheets and four points, that's more of what we're about."
Etherington, who despite his impressive form this term has already written off his chances of making it to South Africa with England, has twice previously been in a similar situation to that in which Stoke find themselves this weekend.
Coincidentally, both of those occasions also came at Old Trafford during his days with Tottenham and West Ham.
The 28-year-old cannot wait to be part of the special occasion once more and is again hoping to come up against boyhood hero and "Premier League legend" Ryan Giggs.
But whatever the outcome against United, Etherington insists this season with Stoke will go down as one of the highlights of his career - both on a personal and professional level.
"It's definitely up there, probably the best if not one of the best," he said.
"It's very, very close and I'm extremely happy with what the club's achieved, what the team's achieved and what I've achieved this year.
"It's been a good season all round."
Source: Team Talk
Source: Team Talk