Erik ten Hag makes Antony demand ahead of Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest

Erik ten Hag has urged Antony to show he can play for Manchester United by delivering a positive performance against Nottingham Forest.

United suffered a 2-1 defeat against Fulham in the league last weekend and three changes have been made, with Sofyan Amrabat, Scott McTominay and Antony coming into the starting line-up against Forest in place of Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Omari Forson.

Amrabat is expected to start at left-back, which means Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof will play in the centre of defence and Diogo Dalot will start on the right side of the backline.

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After starting every game for United in 2024 so far, Mainoo has been named on the bench, and McTominay is set to start alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag spoke to MUTV ahead of kick-off at the City Ground and said: "They [Fernandes and Varane] fought to be in the team, which is good. They are highly motivated to give the best performances, help the team and contribute. They are two winners and they want to win. This is a big occasion for this season to win this trophy.

"It's a different game [from December's visit to Forest]. They play differently, they have progressed, and we have to play better and their line-up is now different. They played with a left winger coming inside into midfield and now they play with two strikers and one wide player."

Ten Hag was asked specifically about Antony and added: "Lately, he is in better form and we know in autumn he didn't have his best performances.

"But he has to fight back, show some resilience, he has to be determined to prove it, that he is the