Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
2024/25 FA Cup
Fourth round
Manchester United v Leicester City
Old Trafford
Manchester, England
Friday, 7 February 2025
Kick-off is at 22h00
Manchester United will be seeking an FA Cup tonic when they welcome
Premier League rivals Leicester City to Old Trafford in the fourth round on Friday, February 7.
The Red Devils' struggles in the league continued with a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the Theatre of Dreams on February 2, which was already their fifth home loss under Ruben Amorim.
United saw a three-match winning streak come to an end in all competitions, with two of those victories coming against Rangers and Steaua Bucuresti in the Europa League.
The defending FA Cup champions overcame a tricky test in the third round after beating Arsenal on penalties following a 1-1 draw (AET).
Ruud van Nistelrooy has found the going tough since leaving Old Trafford to take over the reins at the King Power Stadium.
The Dutchman kicked off his tenure with a 3-1 success over West Ham on December 3, but has only managed to pick up one more win in his 11 top-flight games at the helm.
The Foxes made short work of Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers in the previous round, emerging 6-2 winners, although they come into the cup-tie with his former club after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to Everton on February 1.
Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
Amorim was dealt a massive blow with the loss of Lisandro Martinez, who suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury against the Eagles. The Argentine defender joins Luke Shaw (calf), Mason Mount (thigh) and Jonny Evans (muscular) on the sidelines.
Van Nistelrooy could be boosted by the return of Wilfred Ndidi (thigh), leaving him without just two players in Issahaku Fatawu (knee) and Ricardo Pereira (thigh).
Amorim is seeing minor improvements from his team, but acknowledges it means very little when results, like the one against Palace, continue not to go their way.
"I think the performance improve, not a lot, but I think we play better than the other games. Even against Southampton, I think we play better today," the Portuguese said.
"But of course, when you continue to lose, especially at home, you have that feeling that it means nothing, the small improvement of the team. So let's go again and see the next game."
Image copyright: Getty Images
Van Nistelrooy felt Leicester were made to pay for a poor start against the Toffees, having conceded twice in the opening six minutes which left them with a mountain to climb.
"Of course, to go 1-0 down after 10 seconds from the kick-off and 2-0 down after six minutes, not being there to solve those situations and get through the first 15-20 minutes, that gave us a mountain to climb," he admitted.
"The one just before half-time, we concede when we could have gone into the break losing 2-0 where you can get back into the game in the second half. That was a fairly easy goal to concede so I think they were key moments in the first half that cost us the game."
Head-to-Head (Previous FA Cup Meetings)
Matches - 3
Man United wins - 2
Leicester wins - 1
Draws - 0
FA Cup fourth-round fixtures:
Friday, February 7
22h00: Manchester United v Leicester City
Saturday, February 8
14h15: Leyton Orient v Manchester City
14h15: Leeds United v Millwall
17h00: Coventry City v Ipswich Town
17h00: Preston North End v Wycombe Wanderers
17h00: Wigan Athletic v Fulham
17h00: Everton v Bournemouth
17h00: Southampton v Burnley
17h00: Stoke City v Cardiff City
19h45: Birmingham City v Newcastle United
22h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea
Sunday, February 9
14h30: Blackburn Rovers v Wolverhampton Wanderers
17h00: Plymouth Argyle v Liverpool
19h35: Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur
Monday, February 10
21h45: Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace
Tuesday, February 11
22h00: Exeter City v Nottingham Forest
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