Manchester United play host to Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth round when the two sides clash at Old Trafford this evening.

Ruben Amorim’s team are in need of a momentum boost following a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League which leaves them languishing in the bottom half of the table. The Red Devils defeated Arsenal in a penalty shootout in the previous round of this competition and, coupled with some strong performances in Europe, the cups still offer a chance of silverware this year.

The game offers Leicester a breather from the Premier League relegation fight and a chance for a confidence-boosting result. The Foxes have lost to United twice already this season – in the Premier League and Carabao Cup – but their former interim boss, Ruud van Nistelrooy, would surely relish beating them at Old Trafford tonight.

Follow all the action from the FA Cup with our live blog below.

Manchester United vs Leicester City LIVE

• Man Utd host Leicester in the FA Cup with kick off at 8pm | Live on ITV1

• Ruben Amorim hands debut to new signing Patrick Dorgu

• Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford after interim stint

• Man Utd: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Yoro, Mazraoui, Dorgu, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mainoo, Amad, Hojlund.

• Leicester: Hermansen, Justin, Okoli, Faes, Thomas, Soumare, Ndidi, El-Khannouss, De Cordova-Reid, Ayew, Daka.

Manchester United FC - Leicester City FC

19:22 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ruben Amorim felt Marcus Rashford was unable to adapt to the way he wanted to play and train after taking the decision to let the homegrown Manchester United forward leave Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old played in the Portuguese's first six matches but was dropped for the Manchester derby in mid-December, after which the England international revealed he was ready for a new challenge.

Rashford did not play for United again following the Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen on December 12 and ended seven speculation-filled weeks on the sidelines by joining Aston Villa on loan.

That deal includes an option to make the move permanent for a reported £40million - a price tag that underlines the drop off since signing a new, big-money deal just 18 months ago.

"I couldn't put Marcus to see the way you're supposed to play football and to train the way I see it," Amorim said.

"And sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different.

"I just wish the best to Rashford and to Unai Emery, and they can connect because he's a very good player."

Fifteen-year-old Monga a 'big talent', says Van Nistelrooy

19:17 , Lawrence Ostlere

Monga is so young he has to get changed separately from the rest of the squad due to safeguarding rules. He has been playing well for the Under-21s and is considered a major talent for the future.

Van Nistelrooy said this week: “We feel Jeremy is ready for this and of course there’s still a long way to go. We have evaluated his progress and, from last week onwards, he will be part of regular first-team training until the end of the season.

“It’s clear he is a big talent, but we cannot go too quickly with a young boy like that.”

Leicester City team news

19:14 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ruud van Nistelrooy makes four changes to his team, bringing in centre-half Caleb Okoli, left-back Luke Thomas, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi – back after two months with a hamstring injury – and striker Patson Daka.

Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen and Jamie Vardy are all missing, presumably injured, while Harry Winks drops to the bench. He’s joined there by 15-year-old winger Jeremy Monga, who is very highly thought of at the club.

Manchester United team news

19:09

So Dorgu is in from the off, presumably playing at left wing-back, with Diogo Dalot on the right side. It looks to be just about as strong a side as Ruben Amorim can field right now, which shows just how much he values an FA Cup run. There is not much left to play for in the Premier League, of course...

Man Utd v Leicester: Confirmed line-ups

19:03 , Lawrence Ostlere

Manchester United XI: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Yoro, Mazraoui, Dorgu, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mainoo, Amad, Hojlund.

Subs: Graczyk, Lindelof, De Ligt, Heaven, Casemiro, Eriksen, Collyer, Garnacho, Zirkzee.

Leicester City XI: Hermansen, Justin, Okoli, Faes, Thomas, Soumare, Ndidi, El-Khannouss, De Cordova-Reid, Ayew, Daka.

Subs: Stolarczyk, Coulibaly, Coady, Winks, Skipp, Buonanotte, McAteer, Monga, Mavididi.

Patrick Dorgu starts!

19:01 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ruben Amorim does indeed hand a debut to Patrick Dorgu from the start tonight. Full teams coming right up...

Man Utd v Leicester

18:49 , Lawrence Ostlere

The Manchester United players getting ready for tonight’s FA Cup tie:

Man Utd v Leicester – team news

18:42 , Lawrence Ostlere

The two line-ups will drop shortly.

Manchester United are without Lisandro Martinez who has ruptured his ACL and will be a long-term absentee. Luke Shaw has also had a setback and won’t be rushed back into action. Jonny Evans is set to miss out on a reunion with his former club, and Mason Mount is also recovering from injury.

New signings Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven are both available and eligible to be selected.

For Leicester, Wilfred Ndidi returns from injury and Ruud van Nistelrooy has hinted at alterations to his squad for his return to Old Trafford. Teenagers Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans are expected to form part of the matchday squad.

Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira are still on the sidelines.

“There are two or three with light injuries, who are doubtful tomorrow. We'll see when we announce the squad,” said Van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy accepts reality of Leicester's transfer window

18:29 , Lawrence Ostlere

Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy said he must deal with the reality of the club's lack of transfer window activity as he prepares to head back to Manchester United for tonight’s FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford.

Leicester are third from bottom, two points off the safety zone, and made one signing in the window, spending £3m on centre back Woyo Coulibaly from Parma.

Premier League rules say clubs cannot register more than two on-loan players at any one time and Leicester already have midfielder Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton & Hove Albion and forward Odsonne Edouard from Crystal Palace.

"When you strengthen the team, your chances will improve, there's no doubt about that," Van Nistelrooy said of the club's failure to deliver many reinforcements in January when talking to reporters on Thursday.

"But the means were not there to do so. It wasn't possible. Also the loans were blocked because we have two players. The disappointment is that two loans are not having the minutes so they're not strengthening the team. We looked at foreign loans."

Three things new signing Patrick Dorgu will bring to Man Utd

18:12 , Lawrence Ostlere

Here’s a closer look at Dorgu, the 20-year-old Danish defender signed from Italian club Lecce in a £30m transfer, who has the profile to shine in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system:

Three things Man Utd’s new signing Patrick Dorgu will bring to Old Trafford

Amorim: 'Dorgu needs time but quality is there'

17:56 , Lawrence Ostlere

“He has to integrate really fast because we lose some players on loan in this moment,” Amorim told the Man Utd website this week.

“We want to build a different team. We start with these different kinds of players like Dorgu. He’s a young player, of course he’s going to need time because this is a different level, a different league, but the physicality is there, the quality is there and he can play both sides.

“That is important, to cope whether we want to play on the left or the right, that is really important for us. He’s a talented, hungry guy, and that is the profile we’re looking for.”

Dorgu and Heaven in line for Man Utd debuts

17:39 , Lawrence Ostlere

Manchester United made two signings late in the transfer window, and both players could feature tonight.

Denmark international Patrick Dorgu signed from Lecce, and the 20-year-old could come straight into the side in one of the wing-back roles.

The 18-year-old Ayden Heaven meanwhile joined from Arsenal, and the left-footed centre-back could also start the game, particuarly given the ACL injury to Lisandro Martinez which was confirmed this week.

Both players “are ready to play and they are two more solutions to help us in this moment,” Ruben Amorim said this week.

How to watch Man Utd v Leicester

17:25 , Lawrence Ostlere

The FA Cup fixture will kick off at 8pm GMT tonight at Old Trafford.

This fixture will be shown free-to-air on ITV 1 in the UK, with subscribers also able to watch online via ITVX. Coverage begins at 7.30pm.

Man Utd v Leicester – team news

17:22 , Lawrence Ostlere

The two line-ups will drop shortly.

Manchester United are without Lisandro Martinez who has ruptured his ACL and will be a long-term absentee. Luke Shaw has also had a setback and won’t be rushed back into action. Jonny Evans is set to miss out on a reunion with his former club, and Mason Mount is also recovering from injury.

New signings Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven are both available and eligible to be selected.

For Leicester, Wilfred Ndidi returns from injury and Ruud van Nistelrooy has hinted at alterations to his squad for his return to Old Trafford. Teenagers Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans are expected to form part of the matchday squad.

Abdul Fatawu and Ricardo Pereira are still on the sidelines.

“There are two or three with light injuries, who are doubtful tomorrow. We'll see when we announce the squad,” said Van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford to face successor Amorim

17:09 , Lawrence Ostlere

This will be Leicester's third visit to Old Trafford this season, with Van Nistelrooy in caretaker charge of United's Premier League and Carabao Cup wins against the club that now employs him.

Both he and Ten Hag have better records in the United dugout this season than Amorim, who dismissed the suggestion that was an uncomfortable statistic.

"It's not awkward and I think it's normal," the Portuguese said. "He knew the team, he worked with the team. I made some decisions that are really hard, to sometimes create problems, friction in the team.

"Everything in the schedule that you don't have time to train, to know the person. It's really hard because I'm a really proud guy, but I take this normally.

"They were better than me in training this team, so I'm trying to help them to see the game the way I see, to improve the performance, and also the results."

Van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford to face successor Amorim

16:54 , Lawrence Ostlere

Asked about the potential benefit of having somebody that knows United like Van Nistelrooy, the head coach said: "The most important thing to have as a coach is a staff who understand the way you want to play, the standards you have.

"When I say standards, I am not saying Ruud don't have these standards - he was a legend of this club, he knows what it takes to win.

"But I prefer to work with a team that brought me here. It's clear that is important for me, to explain the same thing to the players, so it was that decision.

"I'm really comfortable and confident that I know how to win, no matter the club...of course we are losing and in the moment you need experienced guys, but I'm not lost, or I feel a of something in the staff. We just need to improve as a team."

Van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford to face successor Amorim

16:40 , Lawrence Ostlere

"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, he understands this situation.

"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.

"So, it was the clear decision, really simple to explain and he took it like a class guy as he is."

Van Nistelrooy returns to Old Trafford to face successor Amorim

16:28 , Lawrence Ostlere

There is of course the slightly awkward sub-plot to this game, that Ruben Amorim chose not to keep Ruud van Nistelrooy on at United after taking charge.

The popular former striker returned to Old Trafford in the summer as an assistant coach and stepped in as caretaker manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked in late October.

Van Nistelrooy oversaw three wins and a draw before handing over to new boss Amorim, who decided to bring his own coaching staff rather than retain the United fan favourite.

The Dutchman had wanted to stay and was swiftly appointed manager at Leicester City.

Man Utd v Leicester

16:09 , Lawrence Ostlere

Ruben Amorim and Manchester United are in need of a positive result. The Red Devils have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and are in disarray in the Premier League, leaving the Europa League and the FA Cup as their only chances of picking up silverware this season.

United’s penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the previous round was a confidence boost for Amorim’s shaky side but back-to-back defeats in the league has left them on unsteady footing ahead of this potentially tricky tie. Marcus Rashford has been sent away to Aston Villa and, with the remaining forwards all struggling for goals, Amorim may need to come up with a creative solution to secure the win.

But Leicester are in poor form too. They won just once in four matches since a 6-2 demolition of QPR in the previous round and shipping four goals against Everton last time out leaves Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side in a vulnerable position.

Man Utd v Leicester – live

16:06 , Lawrence Ostlere

Welcome along to live coverage of Manchester United v Leicester City in the FA Cup