Manchester United miss this player and can't beat Nottingham Forest

The Red Devils went into the break with a 0-0 draw at the City Ground.

28/02/2024, 08:43 PM +00:00

Undoubtedly one of the games that is attracting the most attention this Wednesday is the FA Cup Round of 16 game between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. Not only is a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament on the line at the City Ground, but the future of Erik Ten Hag and a number of players may depend on the result they get there.

The 2023/24 season has been disappointing for The Red Devils, with failures in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup, so the FA Cup is their only chance to win a title this year and at least give the fans a reason to celebrate. And not only that. With the arrival of new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, everyone must make merit to keep their place at the club or risk falling by the wayside in the midst of a deep renewal process.

But during the first half things have not been easy for them. Nottingham Forest proved to be a tough opponent, defended solidly and prevented Manchester United's talented players from finding space near the box. So while there were a few chances to score, neither team could make the difference.

The Red Devils are undoubtedly missing some of their injured players. The most obvious example is Rasmus Hojlund, who in recent weeks had taken over the goal scoring responsibilities and now, without him, the team is missing a key player. Marcus Rashford is playing as a centre-forward in his place, but it is clear that this is not the most comfortable position for him and his performance has not been satisfactory.

What will the coach do?

Perhaps at half-time Erik Ten Hag will make changes to try to revitalize the team and make the difference in the second half. The problem is that, because of the large number of injured players, there are not many stars he has on the bench. Manchester United's substitutes are Altay Bayindir, Johnny Evans, Willy Kambwala, Omari Forson, Toby Collyer, Kobbie Mainoo, Christian Eriksen and Amad Diallo Traore.