FA Cup Preview
Huddersfield vs Manchester United
Kirklees Stadium
West Yorkshire, England – 18:30
Manchester United travel to John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday to face Huddersfield in an FA Cup fifth-round match. United reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the fourth-year consecutively.
The Reds will look to bounce back after suffering a shocking 1-0 defeat in the hands of Newcastle United last weekend in the Premier League.
Alexis Sanchez has been directly involved in 15 goals in 15 appearances in the FA Cup, scoring eight goals and registering seven assists. If the manager decides to field him in the starting eleven, United’s hopes of going through to the next round improve.
Terriers forward, Steve Mounie put in a man-of-the-match performance against Bournemouth in their previous game scoring two goals and making an assist. He was also on target as they defeated Birmingham City 4-1 in the previous round of the Cup. The Beninese forward will be a big threat for the Red’s defence line.
Romelu Lukaku will expect a déjà vu in this tie as he scored against the Terriers in a 2-0 win at the Theatre of Dreams on the 3rd of February during the club’s 60th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster.
FA Cup Preview: Huddersfield vs Manchester United
Although Huddersfield remains in 17th place in the Premier League table, they are a team not to be underrated. They are good at counter-attacking teams that come attacking them. United should be on the lookout for the Terriers, considering their defence lacklustre performances recently.
United, who are as well good at soaking pressure against attacking sides are also good on the break, causing some sort of confusion against their opponents through their wide men. The Reds should dominate in this tie even though they are playing away from home.
Huddersfield has only won one match in their last 13 matches in all competitions against United (D3 L9). The win came in the first leg of the League game at the Kirklees Stadium earlier this season as they saw off United in a 2-1 win.
The Old Trafford side has made progress past the fifth-round matches on each of the last eight occasions they have reached the fifth-round. United have also won two of their last three FA Cup ties against the Terriers. The most recent one is a 5-0 win in a third-round tie in January 1963 as Dennis Law put in a hat-trick.
Huddersfield is likely to miss Laurent Depoitre and Chris Löwe as they both remain injured. Tommy Smith could make a return from a head injury that kept him sidelined in their last game against Bournemouth in a 4-1 win.
United are still without Marouane Fellaini who is still recovering from knee surgery. Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera both missed the last game but could be set to return to action. The duo of Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return before this month runs out.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be employed in tomorrow’s game. It will be the first in United’s history in which this new technology will be used.