Manchester

Manager Erik ten Hag has spoken to the media before Manchester United's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday (19:45 GMT). Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Ten Hag confirmed Casemiro did not suffer concussion during Saturday's defeat by Fulham but did have bleeding. The Brazilian midfielder is available for the Forest game.

• Responding to Jamie Carragher's damning analysis on Sky Sports on Monday of his side's tactical shape from the first seconds against Fulham: "Some analysts are very objective in their comments, and give very good advice. Some are very subjective. Jamie Carragher, from the first moment on, has criticised and now he wants to make his point - [but] probably in the first half an hour, yeah, he had a point."

• He added: "I know footballers are not robots, sometimes they have bad, days. But it can't be, it's unacceptable, we have to do better tomorrow, but in the weeks before we have done very well."

• On Antony losing his place to 19-year-old Omari Forson: "First of all, I brought Kobbie Mainoo in and everyone questioned. Now after six weeks, the same people say he has to go in the England squad. Garnacho: what is the manager doing? Similar. They need time. Omari plays a reasonable game, he showed abilities he can be a player for the future."

• More on Antony: "I backed him for a long time. I know his abilities. I know from the past he is unstoppable. He's one of the quickest in the first 10 yards. He is resilient. He is a character. He will fight back and I back him."

• On the importance of the FA Cup: "I know the future. But also, I have to look at today. We want to stay in every competition so yeah, we have to win tomorrow."

Follow all of Tuesday's FA Cup news conferences

Watch Nottingham Forest v Man Utd live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport on Wednesday

Following Saturday's victory at Bournemouth, Manchester City have now won more away games this season (14) than they did in the whole of their Treble-winning campaign (13).

Not at their best in the second half, City managed to get over the line to grab another three points and return to within one point of league leaders Liverpool.

There were two standout performances for me: Phil Foden continued his fine form and demonstrated why so many are describing him as one of the best players in the world this season, and John Stones, who has been transformed from a decent central defender into an outstanding midfielder.

Stones seemed to cover every blade of grass at the weekend and has developed a brilliant understanding with Rodri. He has created the template for that position that so many opponents will now try to copy.

The next month looks ridiculously tough for City.

It starts at Luton Town in the FA Cup, where Pep Guardiola will undoubtedly shuffle his pack. After that, the next five league games are against teams who sit in the top seven places right now. Sandwiched in between is the Champions League last-16 second leg against Copenhagen.

Talk about a season-defining month!

Nigel Rothband can be found at The Man City Show podcast, external

It's not exactly unusual for Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher to talk about the travails of Manchester United during Sky Sports' Monday Night Football wrap of the weekend action.

Last night, they spent quite a while talking about the massive gaps between United's defence and their midfield, with Carragher and former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Gael Clichy not able to understand the general positioning of Erik ten Hag's players, almost from the first whistle.

The fundamental point was the bigger the space between players, the more chance the opposition have to attack, which is what Fulham did at Old Trafford on Saturday.

They brought Neville - who was at the London Stadium for West Ham's victory rather than in the studio - into a discussion about Ten Hag's future.

The point was made that with Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich already known to be in the market for new managers this summer, United could be left behind if Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Dan Ashworth decided it was time to act but waited until the end of the season.

Neville feels the decision might well already have been made.

If they were making the call on Saturday's game alone, Ten Hag is in trouble.

That is not happening obviously but Ratcliffe and Ashworth did not appoint Ten Hag, which means the Dutchman will need to be flawless to convince them he is the right man.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville feels Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new board might have already made a decision on the future of Erik ten Hag.

United's hopes of Champions League football are fading, as they sit sixth in the table on 44 points, eight points short of Aston Villa in fourth.

So will they stick with Ten Hag, or will we see another major club in Europe searching for a new manager this summer?

Liverpool and Barcelona are already preparing for the departures of Jurgen Klopp and Xavi, while there remains a vacancy at Bayern Munich following Thomas Tuchel's departure.

"I can't believe they're going to wait until May to make that decision and then leave themselves short of options," said Neville.

"Where Manchester United have been found out in the last 10 years in recruitment, on and off the pitch, is making poor decisions and late decisions. They've not been ahead of the game, so I don't think they're going to do that.

"I suspect they've come to a conclusion already and it may even be whether it's Champions League or not, but they'll stick to that decision."

Gaz Drinkwater and Jay Motty discussed Manchester United's 2-1 loss to Fulham on the latest episode of The Devils' Advocate podcast from BBC Radio Manchester.

United had won six and drawn one of their previous seven games in all competitions, but went down to a stoppage-time goal by Alex Iwobi at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Motty said: "It seemed to be one of those that happens too often with United - when one or two have a bad game, the entire team joins in and you can't have that.

"You have players that will have an off day for whatever reason, and your team-mates should be able to carry them through. That's what the good teams do. With us, if one or two have a bad game, they're joined by eight others.

"The Premier League standard is so high now that even teams in the bottom half are capable of beating anyone, which we've seen. If you don't turn up, you're going to get punished."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Boxer and Manchester City fan Campbell Hatton believes Pep Guardiola's side are not performing as well as they did in their Treble-winning season last year, but will still win the Premier League.

"I don't think we've been our best this season really," he told the We're Not Really Here podcast.

"We always seem to kick on at the back end of the season and see it through then so I'm confident we'll still win the league but I just think on the whole we're not as good as last season.

"I think we've had a few big losses like Gundo (Ilkay Gundogan) and (Riyad) Mahrez as well as others.

"A lot of change where we've bought a few in where they're going to be good - (Josko) Gvardiol, (Jeremy) Doku, you can see signs of top players there but it's going to take a little bit of time.

"I'm still confident we get the league done. I don't think we're as good as last year but we're better than everyone else!

"You win leagues on winning games when you're not playing well so there is positives but we're giving away sloppy goals and defensively we've been switching off a lot this season.

"We managed to hold it together last time we were under a lot of pressure so I think at the back end of the season when we come on strong, if we keep grinding out those wins for now, once we're on full form we'll nick it then."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Erik ten Hag's short tenure as Manchester United manager was on an upwards trajectory this time last year.

United were formidable at home, had just dumped Barcelona out of Europe and ended their six-year trophy drought at Wembley.

The 7-0 defeat by Liverpool that followed has blown all progress into smithereens. It has been a slippery slope since.

United risk a return to the numb Ralf Rangnick era this season - an unthinkable development 12 months ago. Defeats at Nottingham Forest and Manchester City this week would leave Ten Hag with no trophy to play for and potentially 11 points from the Premier League's top four.

He is essentially under trial as Ineos form their set-up in United's hierarchy. It is currently not looking too good.

A change in ownership draws scrutiny to every position, and would have done if United were flying. But they are not, and Ten Hag continues to cite his relentless injuries as the reason.

Liverpool were the bane of his existence once more on Sunday, though, as "Klopp's Kids" inherited his Carabao Cup crown.

It proved a clear identity and tactical understanding go a long way. United continue to demonstrate they possess neither in a crucial period.

Alex Turk can be found at Stretford Paddock, external

Here are the key facts and figures before Tuesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie between Luton Town and Manchester City:

• This is the first FA Cup meeting between Luton and Manchester City since January 1969, with City winning a third-round tie 1-0 at Maine Road.

• City are unbeaten in their past nine meetings with Luton in all competitions (W5 D4), with their 2-1 win at Kenilworth Road in the Premier League this season their only previous meeting with the Hatters this century.

• Luton are looking to reach the FA Cup quarter-final for the first time since 1993-94. They have gone out at the fifth round twice since then - against Millwall in 2012-13 and against Chelsea in 2021-22.

• Manchester City have reached the FA Cup quarter-final in all but one of their seven previous campaigns under Pep Guardiola. The only failure was in 2017-18, when they lost 1-0 to Wigan Athletic in the fifth round.

• This is the first time Luton have an FA Cup tie against the holders of the competition since 1986-87, when they eliminated Liverpool after two replays in the third round.

• Manchester City have won each of their past eight FA Cup matches by an aggregate score of 25-1. They have won 32 of their 38 games under Pep Guardiola in the competition (D1 L5), with four of their five defeats coming in the semi-final.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay is to take over as head coach of Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Minnesota United.

Ramsay has been part of United’s coaching team since joining from Chelsea and will leave the club after Sunday’s Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium.

United say Ramsay will not be replaced in the short-term, with his responsibilities being shared across the rest of Erik ten Hag’s coaching team.

Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne would prefer a move to Major League Soccer (MLS) over the Saudi Pro League. The Belgium international turns 33-years-old this summer, when his contract also enters its final year. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Manchester United are expected to offload several players this summer with 24-year-old Brazil winger Antony among those they would be prepared to sell. (MEN), external

England youth international Omari Forson,19, could leave Manchester United this summer, with the attacking midfielder out of contract at Old Trafford. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Nice and France centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo is interested in moving back to Barcelona despite interest from Manchester United. (90min), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Image source, Reuters

Manchester City forward Oscar Bobb has signed a new contract that will keep him with the Premier League champions until the summer of 2029.

The Norway international, 20, has scored twice in 16 appearances for City this season.

Two of those outings came in City's Fifa Club World Cup success in December.

"It's an incredible environment and the best possible place to be for a young player," said Bobb. "I have already learned so much from Pep Guardiola, his coaching staff and my team-mates.

"To know I'm going to be here at the club until 2029 means everything to me. Now I just want to focus on continuing to further my development and to work as hard as I can every day to try to help the club achieve more success."