FA Cup: Red Devils Go Fox Hunting!

Manchester United vs Leicester City

FA Cup action is back on the agenda this weekend; and there’s a belter of a draw to kick off with as Manchester United meet an old friend when they host Leicester City in the Friday night showcase.

Ruben Amorin has not had it all his own way since arriving at Old Trafford in November, by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t know what defeat was during his successful stint as Sporting Lisbon manager, but since his arrival in Salford the Portuguese head coach has seen the Red Devils lose eight times and they currently sit 13^th in the Premier League table. But Manchester United have every chance of making it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup as they meet the relegation threatened Foxes, managed by their old centre forward Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Since he was appointed Leicester manager Van Nistelrooy’s team has lost nine times in just over two months; so these two managers have a lot on common!  

Both teams had damaging results last week, Manchester United losing 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace while Leicester took a 4-0 hammering from Everton; but they both had morale boosting wins in the FA Cup, the Red Devils beating Arsenal on penalties while the Foxes ran riot with a 6-2 win over Queens Park Rangers.

Amorin and Nistelrooy both need a boost on Friday and the FA Cup 2025 betting odds say it will be the Manchester United boss who is smiling when Saturday comes.  

Talking Points

Martinez blow for United

As if Amorin needed any more problems, as he works on his strategy to bring the good times back to Old Trafford, the defeat to the Eagles last week was compounded by the loss of centre back Lisandro Martinez who was stretchered off in the 82^nd minute. And the news wasn’t good as a medical examination revealed the Argentine warrior had suffered a cruciate ligament injury which will keep him out for around nine months, well into next season. The injury to Martinez is a heavy blow to the Red Devils who need his leadership skills and winning mentality; the centre back is captain Bruno Fernandes’ senior man in the back line. He’ll likely be replaced by Matthijs de Ligt who has the pedigree but not yet the presence of Martinez, and the Dutchman will come under the spotlight following his big money move from Bayern Munich in the summer.           

In other FA Cup 2025 news from Manchester, Marcus Rashford has finally left the building, securing a deadline day switch to Aston Villa, and that will at least stop some of the noise in the media surrounding egos and underperformers at the club. It will leave the young forward line of Amad Diallo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund the space and time to show what they can do. Diallo has been exceptional so far, Garnacho clearly has star quality and Hojlund has the potential to be a powerful number nine.    

Leicester need to shore up their defence

Those three young Red Devils will be licking their licks at the thought off meeting a defence which has just shipped four goals to David Moyes’ Everton, as the former Manchester United boss totally outwitted Van Nistelrooy. That made it 14 goals conceded in six games, and Leicester even conceded two while mauling Championship side QPR. After a quiet transfer window the Leicester boss will have to go with what he has; but if he can’t plug the leaks in his defence his team will be making a quick return to the second tier and, on Friday, they’ll be out of the FA Cup. 

The Foxes defence was cruelly exposed by the Toffees and they will need more protection from the likes of Harry Winks and Boubakary Soumare in the defensive midfield positions. And then the next problem is at the other end of the pitch where Leicester legend Jamie Vardy is still the main man. He’s a fine poacher and fast for a 38 year old, but he is just four years short of the combined ages of United’s Diallo and Garnacho…and that doesn’t seem fair to me!          

History

The Red Devils have a rich history in this competition, winning their 13^th FA Cup final last year with a stunning victory over Manchester City and Amorin will be desperate to give the home fans something to cheer. The Foxes have won the cup just once, and very recently in 2021, as a stunning goal from Youri Tielemens was enough to beat Chelsea.

With identical records of two wins and four defeats from the last six, neither Manchester United nor Leicester City will come into this game brimming with confidence; but the Foxes have only beaten the Red Devils five times in 39 attempts and they have lost the last four meetings, including a 3-0 slapping at Old Trafford in the league in November, which followed a 5-2 thumping in the Carabao Cup a month earlier.    

Betting Tip

The Red Devils are priced at 1.84 to win this clash with a -1.50 handicap while the Foxes can be backed at 1.96 with that +1.50 advantage; so the SBOTOP team can see a two goals win for the hosts and, for a correct score-line, a 2-0 home win is priced at 7.24.

 

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