Erik ten Hag makes FA Cup admission after Manchester United draw Liverpool FC

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United must forget about the FA Cup until March’s home tie with Liverpool comes around given their important set of upcoming fixtures in the Premier League.

Casemiro’s late goal saw United beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Wednesday to set up a quarter-final clash with their fierce rivals on the weekend of March 16. The club - whose only chance of silverware this campaign is the FA Cup - play two fixtures before then, starting with the Manchester derby on Sunday.

United then host Everton the weekend prior to their FA Cup bout with Liverpool. Ten Hag finds his side eight points off the top four in the Premier League with 12 matches to play, and they might be further behind with a loss at the Etihad on Sunday.

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The United manager welcomed the forthcoming visit of Liverpool next month but says attention must now be on resurrecting their Champions League qualification mission.

Speaking after full-time at the City Ground, Ten Hag said: “Now we have Liverpool at home, it’s a fantastic draw, we are looking forward [to it].

“But we have to bury the cup, and first we are looking forward to the league, and the first game is always the most important. It’s a good game, [against Manchester] City, and we are looking forward to that.”

The other FA Cup quarter-finals include Wolves vs Coventry City, Chelsea vs Leicester City and Manchester City vs Newcastle. The live TV broadcast details are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

United will look to beat City at the Etihad for the first time since 2021 on Sunday. There will be fitness worries over captain Bruno