Why Alejandro Garnacho is benched for Manchester United in FA Cup clash vs Fulham

Alejandro Garnacho starts from the bench for Manchester United in their FA Cup fifth-round clash against Fulham this weekend.

Manchester United shift their focus back to the FA Cup as they host Fulham at Old Trafford for a fifth-round showdown on Sunday.

Their cup campaign so far has featured a tense penalty shootout victory over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw at the Emirates, and a dramatic 2-1 win against Leicester City, sealed by Harry Maguire’s stoppage-time goal.

Rúben Amorim’s side enters this clash fresh off a 3-2 Premier League triumph over Ipswich Town, though ongoing defensive struggles remain a concern.

With United languishing in 14th place in the league, the FA Cup represents their most promising path to Europa League qualification, they will also be eyeing a potential Champions League spot if they can win the Europa League this term.

Why Garnacho is benched for United vs Fulham

Amorim has made just two changes to his United side that beat Ipswich in midweek, with Noussair Mazraoui and Christian Eriksen coming into the side.

Mazraoui replaces Patrick Dorgu, who is unavailable for this game after receiving a red card against Ipswich Town – this will be the first of a three-game suspension.

Alejandro Garnacho has also exited the team after he caused controversy with his reaction to being replaced early on Wednesday night as a result of Dorgu’s red card.

The 20-year-old had walked straight down the tunnel before posting a cryptic Instagram story of him looking upset coming off.

However, Amorim has since confirmed that the issue has been resolved, with Garnacho coming to his office on Thursday morning. He also offered to pay for his teammates’ dinner as a gesture.

Instead, Garnacho starts on the bench against Fulham due to receiving a knock in the last game before he was substituted.

In his pre-match press conference, Amorim said: “Yes, he has a knock, when he went to shoot was blocked inside the box. I expect for him to be ready but we will see.”

Garnacho is fit enough to make the bench but the United boss has said that it was too much of a “risk” to start the Argentine in the game.

“Chris [Eriksen] is working really well and Garna has a knock,” the United head coach told club media ahead of the game.

Read More: Alan Shearer delivers shock Manchester United vs Fulham score prediction, FA Cup revenge on the cards

“We cannot risk players at this moment, but because this is cup game and it is decided today, we have Garna on the bench if we need him.

“So it was just rotation in the team to have fit players. Everybody needs to feel important. We need to win the game to go to the next stage and we cannot risk any player at the moment.”

United will be hoping that they can secure their place in the next round of the FA Cup, with a potential quarter-final place up for grabs.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.