Marcus Rashford may have cast uncertainty on his Manchester United future. But, his beloved boyhood club continues in a planned trajectory with a Carabao Cup quarter-final trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou’s men ended a five-game winless streak with their weekend demolition of Southampton, and the Reds will hope for a more favourable outcome than the 3-0 Old Trafford drubbing received during the previous meeting.
However, United have also generated momentum following a memorable derby-day victory against Manchester City, with Ruben Amorim aiming for a trio of consecutive wins.
Safe in the knowledge that victory would supply a last-four place, the Portuguese is eager to become the fourth United manager to lift the EFL Cup, following the exploits of Sir Alex Ferguson (four), Jose Mourinho (one) and Erik ten Hag (one).
Inevitably, much focus will remain on the starting XI and whether or not Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho will feature following their highly-publicised derby absence and the Wythenshawe man’s omission about a desire for a new challenge.
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While the travelling Reds were in fine voice following a late showing at the Ethihad, Mason Mount and Noussair Mazraoui were substituted with separate issues.
Amorim admitted that he was concerned about their fitness in his post-match statement and reaffirmed this ahead of Thursday’s trip to North London.
“Mason Mount is not available,” Ruben told media ahead of the fixture. “He has an injury. Nous, we will see today. The rest of the squad are ready to play the game.
“We have to assess all the players and try not to get a lot of injuries. If we do that, we’ll be stronger in these kind of moments.”
Luke Shaw remains sidelined following his latest setback, but much of the questioning focused on the availability of Garnacho and Rashford.
“They are training, so we will see,” Amorim stated.
“We have one more training [session] – like I said in the press conference, they are our players. We are better with them.
“If they cope with training and the engagement with team-mates, they will be ready to play.”
Joshua Zirkzee is primed to return to the starting lineup following his strong showing against Leicester in the previous round.
Despite enjoying a historically superior record against Spurs, the Reds have failed to pick up a win in their previous four meetings against the Londoners.
The last victory at Tottenham Hotspur stadium came during a Premier League encounter in 2021 under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edison Cavani and Rashford sealing a comprehensive 3-0 win.
Notably, meetings between the sides generally supplies ample attacking moments.
You must travel back to 2014 for the previous stalemate, with 2.86 goals averaged from the 21 fixtures that followed.
Action is set to get underway in London at 8 PM BST on Thursday evening.
How do you see the latest meeting between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur playing out, and will we see Marcus Rashford?
Let us know in the comments or across our social channels.
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