Preston, United Kingdom // Louis van Gaal has loved every minute of Manchester United’s FA Cup run this season even though he feels the “world has been against them”.
Van Gaal’s side travel to third tier Preston North End in the fifth round on Monday to make it a hat-trick of away ties against teams outside of English football’s top two divisions.
United defeated third tier Yeovil Town in the third round before they required a replay at Old Trafford to beat fourth tier Cambridge United in the fourth round.
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And even though he knows the wider football world will be once again be willing the lower league side to cause a huge upset, United manager van Gaal is still relishing the chance to be part of a classic underdogs against giants Cup story at Deepdale.
“It is a fantastic competition,” Van Gaal said. “I have already described that we have to play for the third time a lower team, and you know the world is against you, the environment is against you because everyone is with the underdog.
“It is more difficult to accept but it’s like that. However, the chance that you can survive is higher because you are playing against lower qualities.
“But you have to beat the team with better motivation in other circumstances and in the atmosphere where everyone is against you.”
This will be their first meeting with Preston since an FA Cup fourth round tie against their fellow Lancashire club at Deepdale in February 1972.
On that occasion a United team featuring George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law won 2-0 thanks to a brace from the less heralded Alan Gowling.
Van Gaal, meanwhile, continues to defend his use of England striker in Wayne Rooney in midfield, despite acknowledging the United captain is possibly the best forward he has at Old Trafford.
“He is maybe the best striker,” Van Gaal added. “But I have explained a lot of times that it is not because anyone is not a good player in my selection
“You have to compare and I have to like what is the biggest contribution where a player can play, and other players also.”
Preston manager Simon Grayson has urged his players to embrace the challenge of facing United’s stellar names.
North End, who are fourth in League One, have won their last three matches in all competitions and Grayson wants his team to do themselves justice against the 11-times FA Cup winners.
“Our players, no disrespect to them, but they might never get another opportunity to play against the likes of Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie,” Grayson said.
“It’s got to inspire them. You’ve got to go into a game like this and enjoy it.
“They’ve just got to grasp the opportunity and do what it takes to try to get a performance out them. The one thing I’ll say to them before they go out is ‘have no regrets’.
“They need to wake up in the morning after knowing they’ve done themselves justice.”
Grayson is going in search of his second upset against United with a third tier club, having masterminded Leeds’ 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in January 2010.
“The magic of the FA Cup is there for everyone to see,” Grayson added.
“If we play to our maximum like that day, and they have an off day, then it can happen.
“We know the task we’ve got in hand but we’ve got nothing to lose and they’ve got everything to lose.
“There’s always one shock and always a hero - hopefully it’s going to be a Preston North End player.”
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THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
