Key events
Teams in full: United
Man United (3-4-2-1) Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dorgu; Amad, Mainoo; Højlund.
Subs: Graczyk, Heaven, Lindelof, De Ligt, Collyer, Casemiro, Eriksen, Garnacho, Zirkzee.
Teams in brief: no Vardy for Leicester
The bad news for Leicester fans is that the venerable Jamie Vardy – at 38, the same age as Dorgu and Heaven put together – is not on the team sheet. The good news is that Ruud van Nistelrooy has a striker on the bench who is only 16: Jake Evans. And he’s not the youngest player in the squad, either. Also on the bench is Jeremy Monga, a left-winger who is 15. This is not a typo.
Teams in brief: Dorgu starts for United
United made only one senior-ish signing in the transfer window – the 20-year-old wing-back Patrick Dorgu, from Lecce. Ruben Amorim decides to throw him in at the deep end. Another new recruit, the 18-year-old centre-back Ayden Heaven from Arsenal, is on the bench. The kid is a headline waiting to happen.
Pre-match reading
Michael Butler has been taking a close look at how these two managers have fared since they took over. Even the stattos agree: both teams have got worse.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to live coverage of the fourth round of the FA Cup. First up is the Ruud van Nistelrooy derby, or should that be Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans?
On paper, this is a big game: Man United, the holders of the FA Cup and the winners 12 times before that, entertaining Leicester, who won the cup in 2021. On form, it’s not so hot, as both these clubs have fallen on lean times. Leicester, 18th in the Premier League, may well be heading for relegation, and United, who are 13th, haven’t been much better – at least since Van Nistelrooy left them in November, after being personally ushered towards the exit by Ruben Amorim.
This is the third meeting between the sides at Old Trafford this season, and in the first two Ruud was triumphant. As United’s acting manager, he steered his old team to two decisive wins – 5-2 in the Carabao Cup and 3-0 in the league. How Amorim could do with those scorelines now.
Leicester were so impressed with their back-to-back hidings that they hired Ruud to rescue them from the drop. That hasn’t gone so well… in fact, both clubs have newish bosses who appear to have made them worse. It’s the new-manager slump!
Kick-off is at 8pm and I’ll see you soon with the teams.
