Preview: Ruud van Nistelrooy to lead Manchester United against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup after Erik ten Hag was sacked

Manchester United -v- Leicester City

Carabao Cup

Old Trafford, Manchester

Wednesday 30 October 2024, KO 19:45 GMT

Manchester United return to Old Trafford as they are pitted against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. United sacked Erik ten Hag on Monday after the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday in which United should have been winning.

Ten Hag was undefeated in 73.4% of the matched he managed but the football has been dire, the players have looked well off the pace and now the structure of the club has been overhauled, a new manager could actually gain something. Ruud van Nistelrooy will be the interim manager for United.

Leicester are below United in the Premier League going into this match, so both teams are in the same kind of form – terrible. United beat Barnsley 7-0 in the last round of the competition with Leicester beating Walsall 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the third round match.

United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

West Ham 2-1 L, Fenerbahçe 1-1 D, Brentford 2-1 W, Villa 0-0 D, Porto 3-3 D, Spurs 3-0 L

Goals: 5 – Alejandro Garnacho, 4 – Christian Eriksen, Marcus Rashford, 2 – Rasmus Hojlund, 1 – Amad, Antony, Casemiro, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Joshua Zirkzee

Assists: 5 – Bruno Fernandes, 3 – Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, 2 – Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Amad, Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui

Leicester – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Forest 3-1 L, Southampton 3-2 W, Bournemouth 1-0 W, Arsenal 4-2 L, Walsall 0-0 (3-0) W, Everton 1-1 D

Goals: 4 – Jamie Vardy, 3 – Facundo Buonanotte, 2 – Jordan Ayew, James Justin, Stephy Mavididi, 1 – Wout Faes, Stephy Mavididi, Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks

Assists: 4 – Wilfred Ndidi, 3 – Harry Winks, 2 – Facundo Buonanotte, Fatawu Issahaku, 1 – Jordan Ayew, Hamza Choudhury, James Justin

Previous Meetings & Connections

United and Leicester have met three times in the Carabao Cup with United winning two times and Leicester winning once. United have scored seven goals with Leicester scoring three in these matches. The three matches were played in 1993, 1996 and 2003.

United won the first match which was played in 1993 5-1 with Lee Sharpe, Steve Bruce x2, Mark Hughes and Brian McClair all scoring. In 1996 United lost 2-0 and in 2003, United won 2-0 with goals from David Beckham and Kieron Richardson. United need to win this match too.

John Curtis, Mark Robins, Danny Drinkwater, Matty James, Ron-Robert Zieler, Colin Gibson, Robbie Savage, Keith Gillespie, Ritchie De Laet, Tom Cleverley, Jonny Evans, Tom Lawrence, Michael Keane, Jesse Lingard, Nick Powell, Danny Simpson and Harry Maguire have played for both clubs.

Team News

United: United still have some injury problems which will mean youth players will have to make up the bench again with United seeking to get over the injury problems. Noussair Mazraoui is a doubt with a knee injury, which leaves United with a decision to make in the fullback position.

Ruled Out: Kobbie Mainoo (thigh), Leny Yoro (ankle/foot), Harry Maguire (calf/shin/heel) and Antony (ankle/foot)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: Luke Shaw (calf/shin/heel), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Mason Mount (head) and Noussair Mazraoui (knee)

Leicester: The midlands club have some injury problems ahead of the Carabao Cup clash with United at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening. Leicester will be up for putting more misery on United but with a new manager bounce, there will be no places for players to hide so a win is expected.

Ruled Out: Hamza Choudhury (shoulder), Patson Daka (ankle/foot), Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle/foot), Jannik Vestergaard (ankle/foot) and Victor Kristiansen (groin/hip/pelvic)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: None

Predicted United Starting XI – 4-3-3

Onana;

Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot;

Eriksen, Ugarte, Fernandes;

Amad, Hojlund, Garnacho

Predicted Leicester Starting XI – 4-2-3-1

Hermansen;

Pereira, Faes, Okoli, Justin;

Ndidi, Winks;

Fatawu, Buonanotte, Mavididi;

Vardy

Match Prediction

United need to go back to basics in matches now that Erik ten Hag has been sacked by the club. United have been terrible recently and do not seem capable of grinding out a victory. Granted, the penalty awarded to West Ham on Sunday does not seem to be a penalty, which is a problem.

Ruud van Nistelrooy will now get the opportunity to lead United out against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, which should be a good match to showcase his abilities as the interim manager of the club, which could put him in the spotlight to be the future manager of the club long term?

United will need to put the Ten Hag era of football behind them and look to the future as it will not be an easy ride for some of the players. United’s players now will have to dig deep and put in a shift to get the club winning again, or they could themselves see their careers at the club end too.

West Ham United 1-2 Manchester United

Written by Paul