Nottingham Forest will endeavor to pull off an improbable comeback when they travel to meet Manchester United in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils have one foot in the final courtesy of a dominant 3-0 success at the City Ground last week, and either Southampton or Newcastle United will await Erik ten Hag’s men at Wembley, assuming they can avoid a calamitous collapse here.
No team to hold a three-goal lead from the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final has ever been eliminated, but the more superstitious Man United fans may not be cheering for a victory here, as the Red Devils have lost all three of their EFL Cup finals when winning both legs of the semis.
United did not come through their win over Reading unscathed, as key midfielder Christian Eriksen left the stadium on crutches after suffering an ankle injury, and the Danish lynchpin is not expected to make a miraculous recovery in time for the second leg.
Eriksen joins Donny van de Beek, Axel Tuanzebe, Anthony Martial and Diogo Dalot on the sidelines, while Jadon Sancho’s participation is still up in the air as he adapts to team training again – the same can be said for Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw after both men missed the FA Cup clash.
Amid a potential last-minute transfer swoop for an Eriksen stand-in, Fred can expect to fill the hole in the engine room for the time being, and Ten Hag may also consider handing starts to the likes of Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho given his side’s comfortable three-goal cushion.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Elanga, Fernandes, Garnacho; Weghorst
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