Manchester United will host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinal on Sunday. While Erik ten Hag’s team narrowly defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 to get to the round of eight. The Reds’ young players were the talk of the town as they defeated Southampton 3-0.
Preview (Manchester United vs. Liverpool)
It remains to be seen if the under-fire Ten Hag will remain in charge at the end of the season. There are rumors have it that Sir Jim Ratcliffe does not see the Dutchman as a long-term solution. The former Ajax manager still has a chance to lead the Red Devils to two major titles. The 20-time English champions were too strong for Wigan Athletic and Newport County in the FA Cup’s early rounds. They are riding high on their success in the EFL Cup the previous season. On February 28, they overcame Nottingham Forest, a Premier League-caliber challenge.
The Red Devils advanced to the cup quarterfinals after 88 scoreless minutes at the City Ground thanks to the legendary Casemiro touches from a Bruno Fernandes free kick. Over the course of their previous eight appearances, they have won eight times and lost one. Superstition is obviously not in favor of the 2022–23 runners-up, having made it all the way to Wembley last year. However, recent form is, as they won their seventh game in a row against Everton last weekend. There were goals came from Marcus Rashford and Fernandes penalties.
The result would have differed if the Toffees had converted at least one of their several opportunities. The Red Devils have shown no signs of indulging in luxury as they have now scored 13 goals in a row in all competitions dating back to Boxing Day. When it comes to teams wearing red and having fiery attacking instincts, Liverpool did not hold back against Sparta Prague in their Europa League last-16 second leg on Thursday night. Scoring an incredible four goals in only 14 minutes, they destroyed the Czech champions.
Team News
Rasmus Hojlund, a £72 million striker, was brutally sidelined with a muscular injury. However, Ten Hag and Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand have both claimed that the Premier League Player of the Month for February should return this weekend. In addition, the Red Devils are hopeful about the health of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire. Mason Mount, a long-term calf injury victim, has finally resumed training, though he might need more time to catch up to his colleagues. Although Hojlund is anticipated to be cleared, Omari Forson, another inexperienced attacker, is less certain, as are Anthony Martial (groyne), Luke Shaw (muscle), Tyrell Malacia (knee), and Lisandro Martinez (knee).
Regarding Liverpool, Klopp’s crop was not entirely unsullied by Thursday’s rout of Sparta; in the second half, first-time goal scorer Clark had to be substituted due to an apparent ankle problem, about which the Reds manager acknowledged being a little concerned. But last weekend, Klopp said that Ibrahima Konate, who had a hamstring injury. He has a “good chance” of returning to Old Trafford. Ryan Gravenberch, who returned to training before the Sparta second leg after an ankle injury.
The visitors are still without Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Diogo Jota (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Joel Matip (knee), Alisson Becker (thigh), Curtis Jones (shin), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee), but Salah—who made history on Thursday by becoming the first Liverpool player to score 20 goals in seven consecutive seasons—made it through an impromptu 90 minutes without incident.
Manchester United 1-3 Liverpool
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