[4-3-2-1]: Dorgu and Heaven’s debut, Amad as false nine and Mainoo in a strange position- Manchester United predicted lineups vs Leicester City as Partick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven set for debut against Leicester City
Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night after setting their worst run of home form for 131 years last weekend.
Ruben Amorim’s five defeats in seven home league games is already more than his compatriot Jose Mourinho managed in two-and-a-half years at the club, and he must make amends for that run here against their fellow Premier League strugglers.
A 2-0 defeat here at Old Trafford to Crystal Palace last Sunday saw Man United put together a run of form so poor it has not been this bad since the 19th century.
While Amorim has earned famous wins at Manchester City and Arsenal in the third round of this competition, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Palace have all come and won with little fuss at the Theatre of Dreams.
The Red Devils remain stuck in the bottom half, down in 13th, just three points above Everton in 16th, meaning the FA Cup and the Europa League will most likely be the only route back into Europe for the club.
This is a favourable draw for the hosts, and being at home should help too, considering they have not lost any of their last 18 FA Cup ties at Old Trafford in regular time – winning 16, as the last visiting side to win here was Arsenal back in the 2014-15 season.
Leicester are a side they have already gotten the better of multiple times this season too, and peculiarly, the opposition manager was the man who earned both of those wins for Man United.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was in the dugout for United for the 5-2 and 3-0 wins in the EFL Cup and Premier League respectively, before being appointed Leicester’s manager a few weeks later.
That gives Man United the opportunity to beat a club three times at home in a single season for the first time in their history, but after winning the first two FA Cup meeting with the Foxes, they lost the most recent in 2021, with Leicester winning a quarter-final clash at the King Power on the way to lifting the trophy that season.
It was in the quarter-finals where Leicester were eliminated last season as a Championship club, going down to Chelsea, but morale is nowhere near as high as it was last season, and despite Man United’s struggles, the Foxes are in even worse form.
Even extending their run of seven wins from their last eight fourth-round ties looks a stretch, especially after being brought back down to earth at Goodison Park last weekend.
Just a week after a sensational win away to Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester were thrashed 4-0 by Everton, allowing the Toffees to move nine points clear of them in the battle to avoid the drop.
Wolves’ win later that same day at home to Aston Villa saw them fall back into the bottom three following a run of eight defeats in nine games, and no notable additions were made in the transfer market, making Van Nistelrooy’s job much tougher.
Marcus Rashford left Man United at the end of the transfer window, while Alejandro Garnacho stayed put, but Amorim’s wish for a striker was not granted, just days after he selected Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine over Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
Lisandro Martinez’s season is over after he tore his ACL in the defeat to Palace last weekend, joining Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Mason Mount on the sidelines, while Tyrell Malacia has left for PSV Eindhoven on loan.
Patrick Dorgu joined as one of their late signings in the window, and could make his debut here, while Altay Bayindir is also set for a rare start, especially after his heroics in the third-round win over Arsenal.
Mads Hermansen returned from a six-week layoff at Everton last weekend, but has not played in either cup competition so far, so Jakub Stolarczyk could come back into the side here.
Wilfred Ndidi is edging closer to a return from a thigh injury, but Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu remain out with long-term setbacks.
Van Nistelrooy may go more offensive following their horror show at Everton, so Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi may be drafted in out wide, while Jannik Vestergaard is likely to lose his place in the side.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Mazraoui, Maguire, De Ligt; Dalot, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dorgu; Amad, Hojlund, Fernandes
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Stolarczyk; Coulibaly, Coady, Okoli, Kristiansen; Soumare, Skipp; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Daka
