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Key events
Fulham, meanwhile, will have restored players who were rested for this match. With their Premier League status secure, they’ve no reason not to go all-out for the Cup, and given the teams left, they’ve a decent chance of making something happen. Bassey is exactly the kind of centre-back Hojlund can spend an entire match fruitless fighting; Robinson is a one-man left-flank; and Iwobi has excellent ball-carrying capabilities.
Amorim has little in the way of options. He’ll be devo’d about Dorgu, banned for the first of three games – already, his new signing had made a difference, giving United width, balance and physicality, doing the right things and building a promising partnership with Bruno Fernandes. Mazraoui, though a lovely footballer, offers little attacking threat from wing-back, likewise Diogo Dalot on the other side, while there could scarcely be less pace behind the nominal centre-forward, Rasmus Hojlund, both Eriksen and Joshua Zirzkee looking like they run in a wind-tunnel.
But before that, though, we’re into extra time at SJP.
Imma write these down, then we’l wonder what they might mean in a little more detail.
Marco Silva, meanwhile, leaves out Jorge Cuenca, Issa Diop and Ryan Sessengon – who scored in the midweek win at Wolves – with Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi coming in. That means a change of shape from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1.
Ruben Amorim makes two changes to the side that sneaked by Ipswich in midweek: Alejandro Garnacho, who stomped down the tunnel after being sacrificed following Patrick Dorgu’s red card, is on the bench having bought the squad tea by way of apology; the two are replaced by Noussair Mazraoui and Christian Eriksen.
Teams!
Manchester United (3-4-3): Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot Fernandes, Ugarte, Mazraoui; Eriksen, Zirkzee; Hojlund. Subs: Graczyk, Murdock, Heaven, Lindelof, Casemiro, Garnacho, Obi.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Traore, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz. Subs: Benda, Cuenca, Diop, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Willian, Jimenez.
Referee: Stuart Atwell (Nuneaton)
Also going on…
Before we get going with our game, it’s 10 v 10 at St James’, it’s 1-1 with four minutes injury-time to play … and there’s been a development!
Preamble
We live in age of extremes, and even as the world order is bulldozed by artless dunces, there remains little as extreme than football. Dealing almost uniquely in polarised emotions – love and hate, buzzing and gutted, furious and sanguine – never has it reflected our world more.
As such, it is unsurprising that, as we ponder a fascinating cup-tie, all the fuss is about the rich folk noisily failing, imposing unwarranted suffering on all connected to it bar those whose fault it is . Handed a new contract to a failing manager? Fire some workers. Bussed a dizzying sum of money buying him yet more substandard players? Increase ticket prices. Spend over £20m firing him a few months later, as everyone else knew you would? Serve staff gruel for dinner.
Really, though, we should be talking about Fulham. After returning to the Premier League in 2022, they finished 10th then 13th and now, with 10 games left in their third season back, they sit comfortably in ninth. The work of Marco Silva and his players – set against the backdrop of an expensively extended ground – may be understated, but it is not less brilliant for that.
Of course, our world being our world and our football being our football, not everything is ideal – Fulham tickets are as disgracefully priced as anyone’s – but they remain an example of a rare and underrated skill: competence. A level that, should their players hit it today, would give them an excellent chance of progressing to the last eight of a competition they’ve never won. This is going to be good.
Kick-off: 4.30pm GMT
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