Van Nistelrooy meets his old team again
Van Nistelrooy was only appointed as Erik ten Hag's assistant coach last summer, and by the end of October 2024, the former striker had been given the temporary job after his compatriot was sacked.
As a club legend, Van Nistelrooy was tasked with stabilising United while Ruben Amorim arrived. He took charge of four games in all competitions, two of which came against Leicester at Old Trafford. The Red Devils won 5-2 in the League Cup, and then 3-0 in the Premier League.
But Van Nistelrooy was out of Old Trafford when Amorim officially started his job. However, he was not out of work for long. Steve Cooper was sacked by Leicester, and the Foxes (as Leicester City are nicknamed) confirmed Van Nistelrooy as their new manager.
The FA Cup fourth round tie marked the first time Van Nistelrooy had faced his former club since leaving Man United, and came after Leicester City produced a poor performance and result against Everton in the Premier League, losing 4-0 at Goodison Park.
In the Premier League, Leicester City have conceded 50 goals in 24 games. They are currently bottom of the table, two points from safety, and Van Nistelrooy has won just three games since taking over. One of those victories came in the third round of the FA Cup, a 6-2 win over Queens Park Rangers.
Leicester will be hoping they can repeat Brendan Rodgers' FA Cup triumph in 2021, giving them a chance of European football next season.
As for Man United, they won three consecutive matches before losing 0-2 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League. This was their 7th home defeat this season, this result left them in 13th place in the Premier League.
In fact, since the start of last season, only Wolves (16) have lost more Premier League home games than Man United (13).
That statistic offers hope for Leicester, who have won seven of their last eight FA Cup fourth-round ties, with the exception of a 4-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest in 2021-22.
However, Man United have won 16 of their last 18 FA Cup home games, drawing two, including a draw that saw them lose on penalties to Middlesbrough in February 2022. The last visitors to win in regular time at Old Trafford was in the FA Cup against Arsenal in March 2015, winning 2-1.
Amorim has yet to get a consistent performance from his team, despite Amad Diallo's fine form. The Ivorian midfielder created six chances against Palace, his highest tally in a Premier League game (matching the six he created against Southampton in September 2024).
Since Amorim’s first game in charge of Man United on 24 November 2024, Diallo has scored 6 goals and provided 5 assists. He has been directly involved in more goals for Man United under Amorim in the last period. In addition, he has also created 33 chances for his teammates, a number only surpassed by Bruno Fernandes (46).
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes has been involved in 10 goals in his last 10 FA Cup appearances for United (7 goals, 3 assists), scoring the winner in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup third round, which the Red Devils won on penalties.
Head to head record Man United vs Leicester City
Man United have beaten Leicester twice this season. In their history, Man United have never won three home games against a club in the same season before.
This is the fourth time United and Leicester have met in the FA Cup. The Red Devils won the first two meetings (3-1 in the 1962-63 final, 2-1 in the 1975-76 fifth round) while the Foxes won their most recent meeting 3-1 in the 2020-21 quarter-finals, before going on to win the trophy.
After a run of five games without a win against Leicester between December 2020 and April 2022, Man United have won their last four meetings with the Foxes by an aggregate score of 12-2.
The match between Man United and Leicester City will take place at 3:00 a.m. on February 8.
