[3-4-2-1]: Bayindir start and Onana out, Academy striker partner Zirkzee upfront and Mainoo returned to favourite position- Manchester United’s dangerous lineup against Leicester City as Ruben Amorim confirms many strange changes ahead of the FA Cup clash with Leicester City
Ruud Van Nistelrooy returns to the Old Trafford dugout where he was monetarily in charge of Manchester United following the sacking of Erik Ten Hag.
He brings his Leicester side, which are really struggling in the Premier League at the moment, underlined by their 4-0 defeat to Everton last time out. The cup will be a welcome break from the unrelenting pressure of a Premier League relegation battle which could help his side take something from this game.
The FA Cup is just as important for Manchester United. Ruben Amorim became the quickest Manchester United manager in history to lose 5 games at Old Trafford, an unwanted record that was dealt by a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace last time out.
With Manchester United sitting 13th in the Premier League, the FA Cup and Europa League are the only chances they’ll have of lifting silverware this season.
Bruno Fernandes has been one of the few standout players for Manchester United this season, he’s registered 11 goal contributions across his 23 Premier League appearances (5 goals, 6 assists) – topping the United ranks for assists and second in goals only behind Amad Diallo.
What really stands out with Fernandes is how effective he was in Manchester United’s 2 previous meetings with Leicester this season. He scored twice and created 4 chances in United’s 5-2 win over Leicester in the EFL Cup and also found the back of the net and provided an assist in United’s 3-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League.
There aren’t many sides that Manchester United have consistently been able to create chances against but Leicester are really poor defensively – they’ve conceded 2+ goals in 9 of their last 10 games across all competitions and have conceded 32 goals on the road this campaign – the worst defensive away record of any side in the Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes is on penalties and free kicks for Manchester United as well as corners which offer another route to a goal contribution for the 30-year-old. His underlying numbers are pretty solid, especially when it comes to creating chances – he’s averaging 2.28 chances created per 90 across his 23 Premier League appearances this season.
Manchester United predicted lineups vs Leicester City:
