10
Manchester United’s sole remaining realistic chance at silverware in the form of the FA Cup took a step forward after they beat Newport County in the fourth round.
Their reward was a fifth-round tie against either Bristol City or Nottingham Forest.
With a replay still to be played to determine who’ll face United, Erik ten Hag cannot begin his tactical planning.
However, he can plan the players’ schedules as the date of that tie has been confirmed to be February 28.
It will be shown live on BBC One but Ten Hag might not be too happy about the date.
It is the last date of the three slots- February 26, 27, and 28, and leaves United with only three days to prepare for their next fixture on March 3.
That is a slight problem because the fixture on March 3 is a marquee clash away to Manchester City.
The game preceding the FA Cup tie is a fixture at home to Fulham on February 24.
Considering Ten Hag’s reluctance to rotate now that he is getting his first-choice team back, United fans will watch the FA Cup game nervously.
Away trips to top sides have been the stuff of nightmares for Ten Hag and there is no chance he plays a rotated team in the FA Cup either.
Chances are that the same team plays in both the game and considering that many of the key players have returned from long-term issues now, it will be a fierce gauntlet.
On the other hand, City will benefit from an extra day’s rest as they play Luton Town away from home on February 27th.
Just another challenge for the United squad which has already struggled to get results at away grounds of top teams under Ten Hag.
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
