Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest LIVE: Carabao Cup result and final score after Anthony Martial and Fred goals
Manchester United lead 3-0 after first leg and hope to win first piece of silverware since 2017
Manchester United will book a place at Wembley if they avoid losing to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup semi-finals tonight. The Red Devils did the damage in the first leg thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford,Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes who helped Erik ten Hag’s men to a 3-0 win.
The manager has been quite vocal about his desire to bring silverware back to Old Trafford and the Carabao Cup is United’s best chance at winning a trophy for the first time since 2017. Attempting to stop them are Nottingham Forest but it would take a remarkable comeback from Steve Cooper’s side to get back in this tie.
It remains to be seen whether Ten Hag will rest his key players but Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho are expected to be in the matchday squad and could make their return for the Red Devils. The winner of this semi-final will play Newcastle at Wembley after Eddie Howe’s side defeated Southampton to reach their first cup final since 1999.
Follow all the action from the Carabao Cup semi-final at Old Trafford:
Sancho back in United squad
Jadon Sancho has arrived at Old Trafford with the Manchester United squad.
The winger hasn’t played since October 22 and has been gradually rebuilding his game and his confidence even spending time in a personalised training camp in Germany.
The hope is that he can return at his best level but he’s likely to be eased back into contention and start on the bench this evening.
What happened in the first leg?
Manchester United travelled to the City Ground for the first leg of this Carabao Cup and Marcus Rashford sent them in front of Nottingham Forest with just six minutes on the clock.
Forest responded with a goal of their own but that was subsequently ruled out for offside. Wout Weghorst then netted his first goal from the Red Devils, right on the stroke of half-time before Bruno Fernandes added a third in the second half.
That means United bring a three goal cushion into tonight’s match and just need to avoid defeat to guarantee a spot at Wembley.
Erik ten Hag accuses Andy Carroll of dangerous play after Christian Eriksen injury
Erik ten Hag has accused Andy Carroll of making a dangerous challenge that had a high risk of injuring a fellow professional after Christian Eriksen was ruled out for three months because of the Reading striker’s scissor tackle at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Manchester United manager said the former England international made three challenges that did not belong on the pitch after he was sent off in Reading’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat.
And Ten Hag said referees have a duty to protect players after Carroll was not even booked for his lunge at Eriksen, before collecting two yellow cards in five minutes for fouls on Tyrell Malacia and Casemiro.
Erik ten Hag accuses Andy Carroll of dangerous play after Christian Eriksen injury
Carroll was not even booked for his challenge on Eriksen, who has been ruled out for three months
Man Utd vs Nottm Forest prediction
Even with the expected changes to the Manchester United starting XI, there should be enough quality in the side to keep Nottingham Forest quiet.
Erik ten Hag has made Old Trafford a daunting place to travel to again and with Forest needing to score at least three goals there will be opportunities for United to get in on goal.
Manchester United 2-0 Nottingham Forest.
Man Utd vs Nottm Forest predicted line-ups
Manchester United XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Elanga, Fernandes, Garnacho; Weghorst
Nottingham Forest XI: Hennessey; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Mangala, Danilo, Freuler; Scarpa; Johnson, Lingard
What is the early team news?
Christian Eriksen has been ruled out for three months in what is a major blow to Manchester United, but Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho could return.
Erik ten Hag could make changes to rest players such as Marcus Rashford, with Alejandro Garnacho set for a start.
For Nottingham Forest Morgan Gibbs-White is out with an ankle injury, with Dean Henderson unavailable too meaning Jesse Lingard could come into the attack.
How to watch Man Utd vs Nottm Forest
The match will kick off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 1st February at Old Trafford, Manchester.
It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting from 7:30pm.
Man Utd vs Nottm Forest
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg as Manchester United host Nottingham Forest.
United bring a three goal lead into the match after successfully defeating Forest in the first leg of this tie at the City Ground last week. Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes all scored to give the Red Devils a comfortable lead in this semi-final and put a trip to Wembley within their grasp.
Steve Cooper’s men face a mammoth task of overturning that lead at Old Trafford tonight. They’ll have to do so without Morgan Gibbs-White who performed brilliantly in the previous leg but has picked up an ankle injury. That could mean that Jesse Lingard starts on his return to Man Utd.
The home side are also seemingly boosted by the returns of Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho though Christian Eriksen will miss the game and is out until late April at the earliest.
We’ll have all the updates from the semi-final including team news and the build-up to kick off so stick around.
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