United welcome Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester to Old Trafford on Friday night for a fourth-round FA Cup tie.
This match marks the fourth FA Cup meeting between the sides, with United previously triumphing 3-1 in the 1962-63 final and 2-1 in the 1975-76 fifth round, while Leicester secured a 3-1 victory in the 2020-21 quarter-final en route to lifting the trophy.
Given our lowly league position, we’re almost certain to not qualify Europe, and probably won’t get embroiled in a relegation scrap either, meaning that the FA Cup and Europa League are of utmost importance to our season.
We’ve beaten the Foxes twice this season at Old Trafford: a 5-2 League Cup win and a 3-0 Premier League triumph. You probably don’t need reminding, but we’re also the FA Cup holders too.
Make no mistake about it, this is a huge game in United’s season.
Manchester United Team News
Ruben Amorim faces several injury challenges ahead of the FA Cup tie against Leicester. Lisandro Martinez is ruled out with a cruciate-ligament knee injury sustained in the Crystal Palace match, and Luke Shaw continues his recovery and will not feature, with Amorim indicating he needs more time training with the team.
We don’t know the extent of the injury but it’s an injury that is going to take time. Luke, just a little bit, one small issue in a different area from the last injury, so we’ll try to be careful with Luke.
New recruits Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven are available for selection, but Amorim remained coy:
We’ll see. You guys have to wait for tomorrow! But they are ready to play and they are two more solutions to help us in this moment.
Marcus Rashford and Tyrell Malacia have left on loan to Aston Villa and PSV Eindhoven respectively. Goalkeepers Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton are also sidelined.
Mason Mount remains unavailable, while Jonny Evans will miss the match. The manager has options like Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, and Manuel Ugarte potentially returning to the starting lineup.
Leicester City Team News
Ruud van Nistelrooy will have Wilfred Ndidi back from injury for the match at Old Trafford. The Leicester manager is anticipating bringing teenagers Jeremy Monga (15) and Jake Evans (16) into the squad.
Several players remain unavailable, including Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira. Van Nistelrooy noted that two or three players have light injuries and are currently doubtful for the match. The manager sees this as an opportunity for young players to potentially break into the first team.
Predicted XI
Onana;
De Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui;
Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Amad;
Fernandes, Garnacho;
Zirkzee.
Form Guide
Manchester United All Competitions Form:
L W W W L
Leicester City All Competitions Form:
W L L W L
Prediction
Leicester City are very beatable, and we have already beaten them this season.
However, they have wins over Spurs and West Ham recently, and the evergreen Jamie Vardy is always dangerous. Given how United have been playing recently, I expect this to be a relatively low-scoring game, with United’s superior quality eventually making the difference
Predicted score: Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City (United win on penalties)