Advancing to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup was certainly a good start to the post-Ronaldo era, with a 2-0 victory over Burnley enough to see the Red Devils continue their pursuit of a first trophy since 2017!
Another game under the Old Trafford lights awaits now, with Nottingham Forest the visitors for the first time since 1998 as United look to extend a stellar five-match home winning run in all competitions, four of which came ‘to nil’.
Facing off against newly-promoted opposition should heighten belief the Red Devils can extend that run given that they’ve lost just one of their last 19 meetings with teams who came up from the Championship (W12, D6).
Steve Cooper brings his Forest side to Manchester in a buoyant mood though after masterminding a 4-1 win over Blackburn in the Carabao Cup, securing the Tricky Trees their first quarter-final appearance in that competition in nearly 30 years!
The Forest boss thought there was a ‘load of positives’ to take from the emphatic cup victory as Forest now look to climb out of the relegation zone.
That could be possible with victory here, and the newly-promoted outfit encouragingly went into the mid-season break by avoiding defeat in their last two matches (W1, D1) as their squad continues to gel.
The chances of clambering to temporary safety with a win here appear slim though, as Forest have won just two points on the road this term, scoring only once and conceding an eye-watering 19 times!
Players to watch: Marcus Rashford has scored more than double the goals of any other United player under ten Hag, and the Red Devils have won on each of his last 11 goalscoring appearances. He’ll likely be facing fellow United academy graduate Jesse Lingard, who faces his boyhood club for the first time on the back of a goal and assist in Forest’s cup success in midweek.
Hot stat: Man Utd have failed to score a home PL goal this season in either the first or last 15 minutes.
