Stretford End: United And You

FA Cup Preview: Norwich City vs ManUtd

27/06/2020

The FA Cup returns today and Manchester United travel to Carrow Road where they face Norwich City in the quarter-finals. Manchester United will be looking to equalise Arsenal’s haul of 13 trophies this season. ManUtd last met Norwich in the fourth round of the 1993-94 season at the Carrow Road and won 2-0. They also went on to win the FA Cup that season.

Manchester United beat Sheffield United 3-0 which saw Anthony Martial score his first hattrick for the club. It was also a first hattrick for a United player post Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure. United are now unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions and could extend that run against Norwich later today. Norwich on the other hand, have had a poor start to their PL return. Losing against Southampton and Everton and not scoring in either games. The Canaries are winless in their last seven home FA Cup games, drawing three and losing four. Their last two PL games were at home too! (Yikes!).
The Red Devils beat Derby County 3-0 in the last round while Norwich caused an upset when they knocked out Spurs on penalties. The two Premier League outfits lock horns this weekend with United favourites to proceed into the next round.

Daniel Farke will be without defenders Grant Hanley, Christoph Zimmerman and Sam Byram due to long term-injuries. Forward, Josip Drmic sustained a knock against Everton and remains doubtful. At United, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe continue to remain at the sidelines while Jesse Lingard makes a return to the squad. Teamu Pukki could start after not featuring against Everton. The Canaries goalless run could continue as United have kept clean sheets in all four FA Cup outings this season. But one player that United will have to be cautious of is Tim Krul. The Dutch Goalkeeper is fantastic goalkeeper when it comes to penalties. And it was his saves against Troy Parrot and Gedson Fernandes that helped the Canaries progress into the next round.

Both Solskjaer and Farke stated that they won't heavily rotate the team. Farke complained about the lack of rest and heat.

My starting eleven predictions for today (4-3-3): Marcus Rashford could start on the left once more. The Englishman needs more minutes and hasn’t looked quite sharp. Anthony Martial could be rested for Odion Ighalo. On the right wing, I feel it could be a good opportunity for Daniel James. He was very poor against Tottenham and Mason Greenwood seems to be a better option but should be saved for our encounter against Brighton on Tuesday.

The midfield is where I expect to see more rotation. Bruno Fernandes could be benched for Paul Pogba. Scott McTominay and Fred could start with McTominay playing deep. In-form Matic deserves to be rested and could be a crucial figure against Brighton. The Serbian was lauded by Ole for performance against Sheffield.

In defence, young Brandon Williams could replace Luke Shaw. Eric Bailly should partner Harry Maguire and finally we could see Diogo Dalot play at right-back instead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

In goal, I really want to see Sergio Romero. I’m sure there’s a certain section of the fan base that feel more secure with Romero in goal at the moment.

Bits from OGS press conference:
-His thoughts on Liverpool winning the league: Solskjaer congratulated Klopp and stated that Liverpool deserved to win the PL this year and that the PL is hard competition to win. He also said that it hurts to see any other club lift the trophy and all United feel would feel the same.
-When asked about how far United were from Liverpool, OGS said that he doesn’t think it’s the right time and that we first have to get into the top 4 and challenge for trophies. At our best we are very good but we need to be more consistent and that’s a challenge for our players.
-OGS claimed that the FA Cup is a fantastic tournament. Winning this trophy could act as a catalyst to future performances.
-Solskjaer said that there’ll be few changes and no heavy rotation and that if you want to be part of a winning Manchester United team, there have to be changes (rotations).
-Sir Alex Ferguson’s run of titles will be difficult to emulate. Ferguson was a master at staying at the top and it’s up to the current team to shorten/get past Liverpool.
-Lingard came back from with a smile on his face and loads of energy. He’ll be involved against Norwich. He has scored vital goals for the club and has been a vital player. He looks sharp and focused at the moment.
-Ole expects players to turn up every time the wear the United shirt and to perform to the best of their abilities. They need to be more consistent as they’ve shown what they can do at their best.
-Ole hailed Wan-Bissaka and called him an exceptional defender. He is difficult to go past and is a shy boy. Aaron wants to keep learning and create chances and assists.
-Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that the 1999 FA Cup victory was one of his favourite FA Cup moments. It was the climax of the season and one his best moments. He scored the winner and it was proud moment for as his dad was in the stands. He praised the tournament and said that he was uncertain about how current youngsters really know what it means to win the FA Cup.