• The good news for Liverpool fans is the possible return of defender Ibrahima Konate.
• The importance of this match cannot be understated since Nottingham Forest are also fighting for survival. Luton are 18th with 21 points while Forest are three points and a slot better.
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FA Cup: Manchester United v Liverpool
Liverpool will have the most supporters in any away game in the modern era when they play Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in the FA Cup.
They will take 9,211 fans with them for the game, which could decide the fate of United coach Erik Ten Hag. If United lose, it ends their chance of silverware this season and that is what the Dutchman’s future will be judged on in June.
The good news for Liverpool fans is the possible return of defender Ibrahima Konate. It is not definite and Jurgen Klopp will decide on Saturday for Sunday’s game but he was upbeat about Konate’s chances.
The Frenchman was replaced just after halftime after a muscle injury in the Reds' 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
The good news about Mo Salah is that he came through this week’s training without any problems.
Klopp rued his injury list this week, commenting: “There are many players not available, it is crazy. If we were to play only the injured players we would have a good team.”
Joel Matip, Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara are all ruled out of the tie.
Klopp’s teamsheet on Thursday read Caoimhin Kelleher in goal, Andrew Robertson, Jarell Quansah, Virgil Van Dijk, Andre Gomez, Dominic Szoboszial, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister, Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
United have been strengthened with the return of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who trained alongside Mason Mount. Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are all out.
Ten Hag was hoping to have Rasmus Hojlund available. Hojlund is close to Denmark’s boss Kasper Hjulmand, who said he believes the striker has every chance of playing on Sunday.
Hojlund has missed the past four matches due to a muscle problem but after a conversation between Ten Hag and Hjulmand, they are both of the opinion that Hojlund will play, barring any setbacks.
As I write this column Ten Hag is planning on starting Andre Onana in goal behind Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Johnny Evans, Victor Lindelof, Kobi Mainoo, Casemiro, Burno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Hojlund.
Training has been intense this week at Carrington and barring injuries or problems, the coach seems settled on his starting 11 but things can change at the last minute.
Fulham v Tottenham
Fulham have a decent home record this season and are holding their own in the Premier League, 12th place 35 points.
In a London derby on Saturday, they hope to have Raul Jimenez back after a hamstring strain.
Fulham have become successful in keeping their players fit and despite their 2-1 defeat at Wolves last weekend, Marco Silva intends to keep his team virtually unchanged with the possible exception of Jimenez in the front line.
Depending on fitness, Silva has Rodrigo Muniz, Alex Iwobi, Andreas Pereira and Harry Wilson available.
Tottenham, fresh from their 4-0 demolition of top six rivals Aston Villa, have captain Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski all available up-front and Pepe Sarr and Pedro Porro came through training without any problems in midweek.
Coach Ange Postecoglou’s only challenge is picking between Van de Ven or Radu Dragusin in the backline.
Luton Town v Nottingham Forest
Luton Town have strengthened their chances of survival with some spirited football lately.
However, their midweek 3-4 loss away at Bournemouth, after leading 3-0, underlined their vulnerability and followed their narrow home loss to Aston Villa and a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
Ross Barkley is having one of his best seasons for a long time and Tahith Chong is proving an invaluable asset behind Carlton Morris, who is also having an excellent season.
But Luton are in a tough relegation battle.
The importance of this match cannot be understated since Nottingham Forest are also fighting for survival. Luton are 18th with 21 points while Forest are three points and a slot better.
Luton are slight favourites to win but a draw is more likely. Chris Wood is Forest’s top scorer with eight goals and his stature and aggressive play will be a handful for Murillo and Andrew Omobamidele at the back.
Coach Nuno Espirito Santos is confident Morgan Gibbs-White, Wood and Divock Origi can dominate the Luton defence.
West Ham v Aston Villa
Following their 4-0 mauling by Tottenham last weekend, coach Unai Emery has been very hard on his team this week and training has been intense.
Villa, fourth with 55 points, have lost momentum, allowing Tottenham to close the gap to two points with a game in hand at fifth.
No one expects either Villa or Spurs to catch the top three, Arsenal, Man City or Liverpool, but the fourth Champions League spot is still up for grabs.
This game comes down to whether or not the Hammers can stop Villa striker, Ollie Watkins, who is in great form.
Villa will miss influential captain, John McGinn, after his red card against Tottenham and also have Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia and Jacob Ramsey out injured.
However, they have a strong line-up with Watkins and Leon Bailey in top form.
Clement Lenglet, Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres have spent the week with Unai Emery working on stopping West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse.
Whether West Ham’s Kalvin Phillips starts is debatable but former captain Aaron Cresswell is playing well and expects to start at left-back.