Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United can salvage their season by knocking arch rivals Liverpool out of the FA Cup.
United have endured a difficult season, finishing bottom of their Champions League group to exit Europe and falling away in the race to claim a Champions League place. But Ten Hag believes victory over Jurgen Klopp's side at Old Trafford on Sunday can prove a turning point for United and see them end a tough season on a high.
“Actually we never got the turnaround so far,” said Ten Hag. “We missed the opportunities to do that.
“On Sunday we have another good opportunity to get the momentum and I think the players and the team showed lately, from January on, that we are in a very good series of games. We have had a lot of wins and the players have to have the belief we can do it.
“Now we have to take the momentum and that is what I feel in training – the spirit, the confidence, so go and play and get the turnaround.mSome games are bigger than others and definitely, United against Liverpool is big, especially when it's the quarter-final of the FA Cup. We're looking forward to it. It's a special game, absolutely.
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“To the fans, they see it as a very big game. They are very eager for us to win this and I'm sure they will be right behind us.
“There will be more Liverpool fans [than for a league game], so they have to be really loud, support us, so we hear them and I'm convinced they will, absolutely."
Erik ten Hag could welcome Rasmus Hojlund back to his lineup (James Gill)United will be boosted by the return of leading scorer Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Mason Mount in contention for the matchday squad.
“We had a good week,” said Ten Hag. “The players you mention returned on the pitch, partly at the start of the week and today they had a session and are all training.
“Tomorrow we have one session. We have to see how they recover from this, but it looks good.
“Tom Heaton is back as well, also very good, Mason trained all week with us, he has had some full sessions with us, so it's looking good.”
Asked if Premier League leaders Liverpool are favourites, Ten Hag said: “It's a difficult one, I never think about who's favourites.
“We have to make sure we are ready and I don't think about the opposition. It's about making it our game. We know where the strengths are but we know that it's about us.”
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