Leicester City

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The Athletic's Rob Tanner, speaking on BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast about the Foxes' upcoming run of fixtures: "Opta looks at the next six fixtures and do a rating of who has got the most difficult. Leicester are up there with Newcastle with the run they've got coming up.

"Straight after that, there are three more fixtures that are really difficult as well.

"This is going to be a tough run but they've got to hang in there because in the past five games, they're playing all of the teams around them.

"They've got to be in touching distance of Wolves and then their fate might be in their hands. But you look at those [upcoming] fixtures and you wonder where the points are going to come from.

"If 35 points is the target, that's another 18 points they've got to get from 14 games. They've only got 17 from the previous 24.

"There needs to be something changing, something dramatic. It's time to be throwing the dice a little bit, otherwise you're just going to slip away back into the Championship."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Chris Forryan
Fan writer

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56, 57, 58.

I thought counting to 10 was supposed to help?

How is Ruud Van Nistlerooy a football manager? He couldn't manage his way out of a wet paper bag. Is this the guy that's supposed to save our season? Bring back Steve Cooper, in fact bring back Peter Taylor! OK maybe that's going too far, but you sense my frustration.

To be fair to RVN, despite my utter alarm at some of the starting line-up at Old Trafford, the Foxes played well in the first half, and deservedly went into the break one up.

But let's look at his decisions in this match.

He is still picking a left back to play right back. He brought on a right back and then played him as left back.

There was no recognised striker on the bench despite paying Edouard up to an alleged £90,000 per week.

He hands the armband to Wout Faes, one of the worse players to ever wear a City shirt.

He seemed to not notice how much Garnacho was ripping us apart on the left when he came on and left our left back come right back to mark him.

Even pre-match he was spouting nonsense - announcing that two teenagers - Monga and Evans would be in the squad. Evans must have been wearing Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. What a way to treat the youngster.

Lets be honest he had no intention of ever letting either on the pitch.

The joke is at least Dick Turpin wore a mask. RVN is ripping this club off. So I go back to my original question, how is Ruud Van Nistlerooy managing my football club?

Answer: BADLY!

Find more from Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die, external

Is there something you want to ask about a Premier League club?

Former Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha is ready to answer your burning questions and give his thoughts on some of the biggest talking points for a special Q&A.

Submit your questions here and come back on Thursday for his answers

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Former Leicester striker Jermaine Beckford spoke highly of Bilal El Khannouss' performance against Manchester United on Friday.

Speaking to the When You're Smiling Podcast, Beckford said: "El Khannouss was brilliant, I really enjoyed his performance. I like his arrogance - every time he got on the ball he tried to make things happen and be forward-thinking.

"I want to see more from him, a bit more energy. Run a little bit harder and close players down. When you pick the ball up, be a bit more like Jordan Ayew; pick the ball up and be direct.

"I saw enough of him today to think that this kid could be something special."

Listen to the full podcast episode here

The latest episode of the When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Jack Rafferty is joined by former Foxes striker Jermaine Beckford to analyse Friday's FA Cup defeat against Manchester United.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

We asked for your views on Manchester United's match against Leicester in the FA Cup.

Here are some of your comments:

Man Utd fans

John: Dreadful in first half with some improvement in the second. Overall a very poor display; poor passing, little skill and lacking enthusiasm.

Mac: Never seen so many passes given away, territory squandered and such an obvious lack of strategy. Second half and Garnacho were totally different but still had to wait for a goal to ignite the team. Very lucky to get the winner - offside all day but I'll take it.

Peter: I've been watching United for over 60 years and the first half was the worst I have ever seen. A little better in the second half but no real threat. Even our second goal was apparently well offside.

Leicester fans

Jimmy: Leicester were by far the better team, taking the game to United and causing lots of problems... then early in the second half made lots of stupid substitutions which disrupted the team tactics and shape Irrespective of United winning with a clearly offside goal, bad decisions cost us a lucrative place in the next round. Let's hope the Foxes show the same desire and passion to win for the remainder of the season.

Mark: We were cruising against a poor Manchester United until Van Nistelrooy took off Thomas and Ndidi. Garnacho coming on made all the difference and our genius manager takes the left-back, who was doing fine, off instead of the right-back, who was getting skinned. And don't forget the obligatory offside goal in favour of United (it wasn't even close, so how did the linesman miss it from a dead ball?)

Nick: It was a difficult watch. Ruud van Nistelrooy set Leicester up with a possession-based style, looking for opportunities to open up. Without the players with the ability to keep possession or the quality to produce opportunities, wins will never be easy to come by.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist at Old Trafford

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For over an hour, this looked on course to be a win for Ruud van Nistelrooy on his Old Trafford return, as well as a morale-boosting result to aid them in their Premier League survival fight.

The Foxes had battled well, were the better side in the first half and good value for their 1-0 goal lead as the game headed towards the final 20 minutes.

Even after Joshua Zirkzee's equaliser their performance earned them the opportunity to take the game to extra time, but it was not to be with Harry Maguire's stoppage-time winner, despite the defender appearing well offside.

But after a poor performance against Everton in their previous game, Leicester fans can take heart from this display and the battling qualities their players showed.

They will be needed as they look to pull themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone.

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Leicester Fan TV editor Phil Holloway spoke to the When You're Smiling podcast about Friday's FA Cup trip to Old Trafford: "I don't want to say it's a 'free hit', but it is a chance for Ruud [van Nistelrooy] to maybe test out a slightly different starting 11 for the Arsenal game [next Saturday].

"If we lose it. we will say we are concentrating on the Premier League and if we win it gives us something extra to go at. It's a bit of a win-win.

"The Everton match, we need to put that behind us. Players not coming up to fans after the game, that needs to stop. We need to see a two-way thing between the club and fans.

"We need to get on the same page before the Arsenal game. The players can make that happen if they put in a performance against Manchester United. They don't have to win, but they need to leave it out on the pitch for us."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sound

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Now that the transfer deals are done, we have a clearer picture of how the season may finish.

Unfortunately, as things stand I think Ipswich will be relegated in addition to Southampton and Leicester City.

Saying Ipswich is a difficult one for me because out of those three, they are the one that I think will give the biggest fight to survive between now and the end of the season.

But at the expense of who? It is probably Wolves, as Everton have now distanced themselves from the pack, but even then Wolves have a new manager and they have Premier League experience which will always help in this crunch time.

Ultimately, the gap now between the Championship and the Premier League is massive.

It is hard to adjust quickly enough in the Premier League as the players simply just don't have the time to adapt. Mistakes are punished, so it makes it very difficult to play the same style that has got a team promoted from the Championship.

Ipswich have probably been the most adaptable of the three teams, but they still lack the quality that is needed within a squad to compete. They have, however, invested and brought in more players in the January transfer window to give them a fighting chance.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim says removing Ruud van Nistelrooy from his coaching staff after his appointment in November was "not a difficult situation".

Legendary United striker Van Nistelrooy oversaw three wins and a draw as caretaker manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked in October before leaving when Amorim was appointed and brought his own coaching staff.

Shortly after that, the Dutchman was named Leicester manager.

"It was not a difficult situation because it was so clear for me - I just had to explain," Amorim said. "I think it's really simple and he understands. He is a man of football.

"I have my team and my staff. I could keep Ruud because it was a good thing for me a popular thing to do.

"[But] I will not put Ruud in front of my guys, no matter what, and then I had to put a person like Ruud in the end on the hierarchy on my staff, and I think that was not fair on Ruud.

"To show respect to Ruud, I was really clear with him and I explained that I have my team, I will continue the same way and I will not put a guy like Ruud, a legend of this club, in the end of the hierarchy in the staff."

The Foxes visit Old Trafford in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday night on a run of one win in nine in the Premier League, but Van Nistelrooy says he is not worried about his future at the club.

"I don't have to be considering these things," he said. "Of course, we're not in an easy moment. It's getting on with your jobs and not speaking about any other things.

"We're in this fight, we're talking in the league of course, but this game is big for us."

On returning to Manchester, he added: "It is special to go back there. There was a history as player, history as an assistant manager and history as a caretaker.

"That is part of me it always will be - but my focus will be on my team to get the best out of them and perform and show what we are about."

Listen to full commentary of Man Utd v Leicester City from 20:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday

What a story it is to see Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has won the FA Cup with Manchester United as a player, going back to Old Trafford with Leicester.

He was in charge of United when they beat the Foxes there twice in the space of two weeks earlier in the season, but he will want a different outcome this time.

Leicester are struggling at the moment but this still won't be straightforward for United.

It is amazing how many surprise results there have been in the Premier League this season, but the one constant has been that United have been awful throughout.

I have absolutely no confidence in this prediction but, based on how poor Leicester have been recently, and also their heavy defeat by Everton last time out, I think the holders will find a way of winning this tie in 90 minutes to make it into the fifth-round draw.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

The latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast has landed.

Owynn Palmer-Atkin and former Foxes striker Steve Howard preview Friday's FA Cup tie at Manchester United and assess the January transfer window.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has been speaking to the media before Friday's FA Cup game at Manchester United (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Van Nistelrooy confirmed that Jeremy Monga, 15, and Jake Evans, 16, will be part of the squad at Old Trafford, while midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is available for selection.

• On the mood after last weekend's loss at Everton: "The disappointment, which we didn't see coming after the Tottenham game, was painful and very disappointing. We evaluated the game with the players, where we have to improve, and then you start going back to work again."

• Reflecting on a transfer window in which Leicester made only one senior signing: "It's not a question of being disappointed or happy - it's a question of reality. It's clear what the reality of the club is at this moment. The opportunities and restrictions go hand in hand and we had to deal with this."

• Van Nistelrooy continued: "I said before that we needed to strengthen and to impact the team with impact players, and we weren't able to get them because of the balance of opportunity and restrictions. That is the reality. We tried, but the focus was on impact players to strengthen the squad. We did it with Woyo Coulibaly but other possibilities weren't possible."

• Asked if anything changed, he said: "The conversations in November before I joined were clear. Of course, you then enter a process together, where you prepare the window and the figures and everything is presented to you. I was part of that along the way. The idea was that there were certain possibilities, but when the numbers came on the table, it turned out to be different. We had to reassess and look at the possibilities within that framework. The only addition is Coulibaly and we go on with this squad."

• Van Nistelrooy said "the reality is not always as you wish" and those developments "did not come as a surprise", before adding: "Reality set in and then I'm quite pragmatic - 'OK, let's get on with it and get the most out of what we have'."

• On if playing in the FA Cup is a distraction or is welcomed: "It's always welcome. We'll do everything possible to be at our best and it's never a distraction. To play in this cup is a privilege and we want to show what we're about in a fantastic away game at Old Trafford. These games are more than welcome. It's a dream for every player to play there."

• Van Nistelrooy will return to United having had a spell as interim manager earlier this season: "It's special to go back there, with the history as a player, an assistant manager and caretaker manager. It is part of me and always will be, but the focus is on my players and my team, to get the best of them and show what we're about."

Follow all of Thursday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live from 20:00 GMT on Friday

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Leicester have progressed from seven of their past eight FA Cup fourth-round ties; the other was a 4-1 away defeat by Nottingham Forest in 2021-22.