Huddersfield take aim at United
LONDON. — Huddersfield Town defender Scott Malone believes the club’s English Premier League win over Manchester United earlier this season will be a confidence boost as they aim to topple Jose Mourinho’s side in today’s FA Cup fifth-round match.
Huddersfield pulled off a shock 2-1 league win over United at the John Smith’s Stadium in October but fell to a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford earlier this month.
“We’ve got Manchester United for the third time this season... we are all looking forward to it,” Malone told the club’s website.
”They’re a good side and put you under a lot of pressure. We’ve played a deep block against them twice now, beat them at home and lost away.
“It’ll be interesting to see what we do on Saturday as there’s no points to play for. We want a good cup run and we are going into the game to win it.”
Huddersfield, who return to league action at West Bromwich Albion on February 24, last won the FA Cup title in 1922, while United have won it 12 times.
Manchester United will be desperate to bounce back in the FA Cup fifth round against Huddersfield today, their first match featuring opinion dividing video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
Defeat at the hands of Newcastle last weekend left Jose Mourinho’s men second in the Premier League but just four points clear of Tottenham in fifth as the race for the top four heats up.
Now they travel to Huddersfield - where they lost in the league earlier this season ahead of a testing run of fixtures that could define their season, with major questions over how best to deploy club record signing Paul Pogba and new boy Alexis Sanchez.
“It’s very difficult to put me in a position where I have to criticise my players,” said Mourinho when quizzed on Pogba’s lack of form, which saw the £89 million midfielder dropped by his Portuguese manager when United last faced Huddersfield a fortnight ago.
There have been mixed reactions to the VAR system, which has been used in a handful of League Cup and FA Cup ties.
The recent fourth-round FA Cup tie between Liverpool and West Brom proved particularly contentious as the extra official awarded Jurgen Klopp’s side a penalty, ruled out a goal for his opponents then confirmed another would stand.