Sanchez could debut in FA Cup as Mourinho reaches 100 mark
New Manchester United signing Alexis Sanchez could make his debut against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, before Tottenham Hotspur will be out to avoid an upset against another fourth-tier side in Newport County a day later.
Having missed Arsenal’s thirdround defeat at Nottingham Forest, United’s new No. 7 avoided being cup-tied for the remainder of this season’s competition, and could feature at Huish Park in Jose Mourinho’s 100th match in charge.
The trip to Somerset will be familiar to some United fans, after the 12-time FA Cup winners, under former manager Louis van Gaal, labored to a 2-0 success over Yeovil in the third round in January 2015.
Having been pushed all the way by Bristol City in its League Cup semifinal second leg victory earlier this week, Premier League leader Manchester City faces another Championship side in Cardiff City on Sunday.
The Welsh side is unbeaten in its last four matches in all competitions, and has previous success against a top-flight City side, having knocked it out in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1994, while in England’s third-tier.
Another upset could take place at Rodney Parade on Saturday as League Two outfit Newport County welcomes Tottenham to south Wales.
This is the first time these two teams have faced each other since consecutive FA Cup meetings in 1959 and 1960, with Spurs winning both games, scoring four in each.
It is Yeovil, however, which could really claim the biggest scalp.
United has progressed in each of its last 16 FA Cup ties against teams from the fourth-tier or lower, keeping clean sheets in each of its last 11.
Trailing City in the league by 12 points, another Premier League title appears to be out of reach for United. Therefore, Mourinho is unlikely to take too many risks with his starting XI as he chases arguably his best chance of silverware this season.
United announced on Thursday that Mourinho has extended his contract at the club until 2020. Mourinho, who was appointed as Louis van Gaal’s successor at the start of last season, led United to the League Cup and Europa League titles in his first year in charge.
“I am really honoured and proud to be Manchester United manager,” the 54-year-old Portuguese, whose previous deal was due to expire in 2019, said in a statement on the club’s website.
“I am delighted they feel and trust that I am the right manager for this great club for the foreseeable future.
“We are creating the conditions for a brilliant and successful future for Manchester United. I love my players and it is a pleasure to know that we are going to be together for at least the next three years.”
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward praised Mourinho for his “exceptional work rate and professionalism”, as well as for embracing the club’s desire to promote young players.
“He has brought an energy and a sense of purpose to everything that he does and I am sure that will continue to bring results for the fans and the club,” Woodward added.
Mourinho said ahead of the match with Yeovil that he was delighted with the signing of an attacking player of the caliber of Alexis Sanchez, but added that the club will continue to give youngsters their fair share of opportunities.
Sanchez completed his move to Old Trafford from Arsenal on Monday in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan heading the other way.
Mourinho said it was “a great deal for everybody” and confirmed the 29-year-old Chile international will be in the squad on Friday.
“In the Premier League he (Sanchez) has shown already the quality he has, we got one of the best attacking players in the world,” Mourinho told a news conference on Thursday.
“I think he’s very important for us because we want to have the best possible players.”
United’s young trio of attackers, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, have combined for 20 goals in the league this season.
Mourinho said their contribution has not gone unnoticed, adding that the right mix of youth and experience was crucial for his team to achieve their targets on domestic and European fronts this season.
“I’m very happy and have to say with pride the evolution of Lingard, Martial, Scott McTominay and these kind of young guys,” he added.
“At the same time you need a combination with players like (Nemanja) Matic, Alexis - people that have experience in where we want to be - fighting for titles.
“Now we have five attacking players of quality, (Juan) Mata, Rashford, (Romelu) Lukaku, Martial, Alexis and it’s fantastic for me and for the team, if the players one day are on the bench and they don’t like it, I’m happy with that.”
Elsewhere in FA Cup action, West Ham United takes on in-form League One side Wigan Athletic. Among sides in the top four tiers of England, only City (29) and United (24) has won more competitive games this season than Wigan (23).
Other Premier League sides in action against underdog opposition are Leicester City at Peterborough United and Swansea City at Notts County. (Reuters)