Man Utd host Leicester in first match since Erik ten Hag’s exit – follow live

With all the noise surrounding Manchester United it is easy to lose sight of Leicester City’s position. They are preparing to face a team without a manager and boss Steve Cooper is focusing on his own players instead of the opposition.

He told reporters at the pre-match press conference: “What we’re doing now is preparing for a cup game and a chance to get to the quarter-finals and a game that we really want to bring a good performance to get us through to the next round.

“I’m sure the atmosphere will be really good tomorrow and we’ve got to try and thrive in that moment. That’s what we’ve been talking about in the past day or so. We’re looking forward to getting down there.

“When you come up against a change in manager, it’s a really good challenge to show how good your own work is as a team, in terms of your ideas of play, both with and without the ball, because really, if you get it right, you should be able to adapt to anything that you face and that will be no different tomorrow.”

Erik ten Hag has a brand of defiance that sometimes made him sound a man apart.

An unexpected taste of glory empowered him. “If they don’t want me, I go somewhere else to win trophies,” he said after defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

“Thanks for everything boss!” Fernandes posted on Instagram. “I appreciate the trust and the moments we share together, I wish you all the best in the future.

“Even knowing the last period hasn’t been great from all of us, I hope you fans can keep with you the good things the manager has done for our club!”

Forward Alejandro Garnacho, who broke into the first team under Ten Hag also thanked his former manager.

“I will always be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity and confidence to play for this club,” Garnacho posted. “I will remember the good times we had together, I wish you all the best.”

Young England international Kobbie Mainoo also thanked Ten Hag for helping him break into the Manchester United team last season.

“Thank you for your trust and belief in me, and for giving me the opportunity to play with my boyhood club.” Mainoo said. “I wish you all the best for the future.”

It came after United slipped to their fourth Premier League defeat of the season at West Ham. They now sit in the bottom half of the table, having won one of their last eight games in all competitions.

In a statement, the club thanked Ten Hag for his work and wished him well for the future. Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named interim head coach as United recruit a permanent head coach.

“I thought it was coming,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “Looking at Tottenham, I thought I’d seen this before and know how it ends. It was a bad day for Ten Hag, everybody thought that would be the day we would kick on, but it’s got worse. Missing chances was unacceptable, the decision was a bad one.

“The challenges of the performances, the owners have decided to sack Ten Hag, I don’t think anybody will be shocked. There will be those that say they have been proven right, fans wanted to continue with Ten Hag, give him an opportunity to succeed under a new structure.

“The shock has been how bad they’ve been, the new signings, to get a good performance and some stability. 14th? It’s unacceptable. The spend that’s occurred. I was hoping it would end differently, the faith shown in him would pay off, but it’s not the case.

“I suspect that Tottenham game would be a catalyst to look for a new manager, being in that position, you look who’s available, being diligent and then think of the timing. In our position, you’re hoping the manager will turn it around, start to win matches, 99/100 when you’ve made the decision, the tide’s against you, it continues to go against you, they decided the next big loss, they’d have to act. They started, I’m sure, after Tottenham, it felt like the end. Even if it wasn’t actually the end.”

It’s a busy week for Manchester United as they host Leicester City in the Carabao Cup tonight before playing Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League.

In non-Europa League weeks, the club have preferred to do their pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend on Thursday.

Although United are hoping to appoint Ruben Amorim by the Chelsea game, it has been confirmed that Ruud van Nistelrooy will carry out media duties tomorrow.

In case you haven’t been following the news since Man Utd’s defeat to West Ham at the weekend the biggest story coming out of Old Trafford was the departure of the manager on Monday.

Manchester United have good players with the ability to turn over Leicester and get their season back on track. The mental side of the game will play a huge role and if the visitors get themselves in front they could get the job over the line.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is a relative unknown in the dugout but he could provide the new manager bounce that the hosts need to edge through this game and win.

Here’s how we think the two teams will line-up against each other this evening. Ruud van Nistelrooy is selecting the Man utd team for the first time and will want to progress to the next round so expect him to go strong.

Man Utd XI: Onana; Dalot, Evans, Martinez, Mazraoui; Ugarte, Casemiro; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund

Leicester XI: Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Okoli, Justin; Ndidi, Skipp; Buonanotte, Ayew, Mavididi; Vardy

As for the latest odds, United are the odds on favourites to triumph despite not having a permanent manager. The individual quality is there to beat Leicester but the Foxes will sense a bit of vulnerability in the Red Devils tonight.

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For Leicester, Jannik Vestergaard is in contention to return at the heart of the defence after an ankle issue with manager Steve Cooper confirming that he is back with the group.

Jakub Stolarczyk, Victor Kristiansen, Hamza Choudhury and Patson Daka have all been on the sidelines.

Danny Ward could replace Mads Hermansen in goal, after saving three penalties in the shootout win over Walsall in the previous round.