Man United’s pursuit of a domestic cup double continues this afternoon as they welcome their Premier League rivals to Old Trafford in the FA cup quarterfinals. Erik ten Hag has already won the Carabao Cup in his debut season and his team is among the favorites to add the FA Cup to the campaign list. They are also favorites to win the Europa League.
Fulham have had a fine season in England’s top flight as they aim to finish in the top eight, although recent defeats to Brentford and Arsenal have stalled their progress in recent weeks. A big win today at Old Trafford would see them reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2002, and they could well cherish their chance of an upset.
The all-Premier League Cup affair kicks off at 4.30pm. Follow the game with our dedicated blog below, featuring expert insight from Dom Smith!
Live updates
12min: First sniff of a chance for United as Rashford tries to grab McTominay’s pass and find a gap in the Fulham defence, but Ream quickly extinguishes the danger.
10 minutes: Fernandes is down and under treatment, so a break in the game. He looks like he can continue.
8 minutes: Willian has a bang from the edge of the area, fizzing wide. He will get frustrated if he doesn’t hit the target.
6 minutes: Fulham have made the better start at Old Trafford. United are struggling to get over the half way line.
Dom Smith steps in
“Excellent start from Fulham, who played mostly in United’s half in the first five minutes. Willian has seen a lot of the ball, mostly in the middle of the park. He’s one of those players who always seems to do that.”
3 minutes: Early call for a Fulham penalty as Mitrovic goes down under pressure from Shaw. That looked risky, but the United defender seems to be getting away with it.
Kick-off!
1 minute: We are up and running at Old Trafford.
Dom Smith’s thoughts before the game
“This is a huge game for both teams. Fulham are taking part in an FA Cup quarter-final for the first time since 2010 and would be in their first semi-final since 2002 if they win.
“Manchester United, meanwhile, are the only team in Europe’s top five that still have a four-way team on the line. In reality, they are certainly not going to win the league title, but winning the FA Cup and the Europa League are realistic goals after winning the EFL Cup last month.”
Draw FA Cup
The winner of this match will face Brighton in the semi-finals.
Manchester City will face Sheffield United in the other game.
Here’s more from the Manchester United boss.
Win the game, that’s what it’s all about. Of course we want to play a good game, but it is first and foremost about winning… We have already played a lot of games without Casemiro and we can fill that in different ways, no two players are the same, so we use a different form , but have faith that this will work.