Norwich City -v- Manchester United
Emirates FA Cup
Carrow Road, Norwich
Saturday 27 June 2020, KO 17:30 BST
Referee: Jonathan Moss Assistants: Edward Smart, Peter Kirkup Fourth Official: Andrew Madley
VAR: Simon Hooper Assistant VAR: Derek Eaton
Replacement Official: Lee Venamore
Manchester United will be back in Emirates FA Cup action as they travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich City on Saturday evening. It will be the third time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has faced Norwich this season, winning 3-1 at Carrow Road in October and 4-0 at Old Trafford in January, which has helped contribute to Norwich’s poor position in the league.
Daniel Farke could be seeking to get one over United, as this season, consistency is not something that Solskjaer’s side have had for much of the season, despite their 13-match unbeaten run which United and Solskjaer will be battling to keep running at this stage of the season, keeping chase on a UEFA Champions League place next season.
Form: United unbeaten 13 matches, scoring 33 goals, conceding three times, keeping 10 clean sheets; Norwich poor in their last six matches and lost set to be relegated this season.
Manchester United: WDWWWD
Sheffield United 3-0 W, Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 D, LASK 5-0 W, Manchester City 2-0 W, Derby County 3-0 W, Everton 1-1 D
Norwich City: LLLWWL
Everton 1-0 L, Southampton 3-0 L, Sheffield United 1-0 L, Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 (4-3 pens) W, Leicester City 1-0 W, Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 L
Top Scorers: Martial and Rashford have scored more goals between them than Norwich have this season. United’s forward line (Rashford, Martial and Greenwood) have scored 50 goals between them this season.
Manchester United Goals: 19 – Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, 12 – Mason Greenwood, 5 – Scott McTominay, 4 – Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo, Daniel James, 3 – Juan Mata, 2 – Fred, Own Goal, Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Andreas Pereira, 1 – Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw, Brandon Williams, Ashley Young
United are unbeaten in 13 matches, scoring 33 goals, conceding three times, keeping 10 clean sheets and driving forward in their bid to reach the top four of the Premier League. Solskjaer’s side will be look to to retain that ruthless streak, especially after stuttering against Spurs last week. The 3-0 victory over the Blades will inspire them to do the same to Norwich, winning at Carrow Road for the second time this season.
Norwich City Goals: 11 – Teemu Pukki, 6 – Todd Cantwell, 3 – Josip Drmic, Adam Idah, 2 – Onel Hernández, 1 – Grant Hanley, Jamal Lewis, Kenny McLean, Dennis Srbeny, Alexander Tettey, Mario Vrancic
Norwich have not done well in the Premier League this season and look to be relegated back to the Championship before the season is over. They have won just two times in their last six matches and one of those wins was on penalties in the FA Cup. Since the league restarted, Norwich have conceded four goals without reply, which does not bode well. Perhaps they will put up a fight against United this weekend.
Team News: Solskjaer has no new injuries with Tuanzebe and Jones likely to miss the Norwich clash; Farke could be without up to four players for the second visit of United to Carrow Road this season.
Solskjaer could be without both Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones for the second visit to Carrow Road of the season as United take on Norwich City for the third time this season in the FA Cup. There does not seem to be any new injury worries in the squad ahead of Saturday evening’s match against the Premier League strugglers, which is a good thing.
Norwich manager Daniel Farke will be without Grant Hanley, Christoph Zimmermann and Sam Byram with the trio already ruled out of the clash with United. A fourth player could be missing from the match with Josip Drmic out with a knock, however, he has a 50% chance of facing United, probably after a late fitness test. This could be an important match.
Predicted Starting XI: Rashford, Martial and Greenwood to lead the line, Pogba in the advanced role, Matic and McTominay in midfield?
Before the coronavirus pandemic, this match would have brought a lot of rotation in the squad but because the club are only two matches back after three months of no action, many of the players involved in the last two matches might be called upon to get the result Solskjaer wants, a win so United reach the semi-final and possibly the final – winning it.
Match Prediction: United have more wins against Norwich in the past but in a cup competition, that form can soon go out of the window. In the last two matches (October and January) United have won 3-1 and 4-0. Solskjaer will want to keep that run going.
United and Norwich have played 18 times in the Premier League with United winning 14 times, drawing once and losing three times. In total, United have scored 35 goals conceding 11. United have kept 10 clean sheets with the Canaries keeping two. United have been awarded four penalties, scoring two with the Canaries having none.. In total, United have received 15 yellow cards. The Canaries have received 22 yellow cards. Neither team have had a player sent off.
United will have a break from Premier League action, which sees them still five points behind Chelsea after Frank Lampard’s side beat Manchester City in the Premier League on Thursday evening. Solskjaer will be seeking another win in the FA Cup, seeing his club in the draw for the semi-final stage and keep their chances of ending the season with a trophy on a high, which would be a good end to the season.
Norwich City 0-4 Manchester United
