Michael Carrick’s Manchester United can make it five wins from five against West Ham on Tuesday

Manchester United are at peak performance and firmly in Champions League contention under Michael Carrick. And they can secure a fifth consecutive victory against West Ham on Tuesday evening, following Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes found the net in each half as United overcame Thomas Frank’s 10-man Spurs on Saturday. Victory over the Hammers would see United overtake Aston Villa in third place, ahead of Unai Emery’s side’s fixture against Brighton on Wednesday evening.

Carrick assumed control on an interim basis following Ruben Amorim’s departure and will remain in charge until the season’s conclusion.

United officials have offered no indication as to who will assume the manager’s role permanently next term, but the former midfielder is certainly making a compelling case for the position.

Here, the MEN examines two of the most significant stories surrounding United ahead of the West Ham fixture, with loanee Marcus Rashford attracting attention in Spain and Gary Neville offering insight into the club’s pursuit of a new permanent boss.

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Marcus Rashford earns acclaim

Rashford’s future at Manchester United continues to dominate discussion after the loanee sought to revitalise his career at Barcelona.

The striker has encountered mixed fortunes at Camp Nou, but seized the opportunity of a rare start against Mallorca with both hands – earning collective praise from the Spanish media. Rashford stepped into the injured Raphinha’s role in Barcelona’s line-up, marking his first start since 3 January.

The English forward was substituted in the second half to a standing ovation from the crowd. Mundo Deportivo commended Rashford for invigorating Barca after a lacklustre beginning. “By far, one of Barca’s most purposeful players in a first half that was collectively very flat,” read an article.

“Taking [Hansi] Flick’s challenge to heart, he assumed attacking responsibility when the game looked its worst, producing the most dangerous shots, the second leading to the 1-0 goal, and sending a beautiful free kick straight off the crossbar. Substituted to well-deserved applause.”

AS noted that Rashford’s form has been on the up as he’s settled into life in Spain. Meanwhile, the Barca Universal website awarded the striker an 8.5/10 rating.

“Rashford was perhaps Barcelona’s most potent threat in the first half as he did not hesitate to cut in and shoot, creating a ruckus in the Mallorca area and bombarding Roman’s goal with powerful strikes,” their report stated.

“He also did well providing a wide threat, although his crosses were well defended for the greater part. In fact, the opening goal stemmed from his shot on goal, which fell kindly for [Robert] Lewandowski.”

Gary Neville provides Man United manager update

Neville has revealed details about United’s procedure for appointing a new permanent manager, stating he directly contacted the club and that the hunt for a permanent successor to Amorim is well underway.

Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he said: “I made my position clear a few weeks ago, and what I’m not going to do is repeat it every week, but what I did, I actually spoke to the club, because ultimately the club get asked all the time from journalists and broadcasters, what’s the position of the club.

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“It’s a very difficult situation, you’ve got a massive movement now with what’s happened towards giving Carrick the job, saying that, really, he should be considered. That’s only going to build the more that he wins and the more that he gets closer to Champions League football.

“I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you’re saying publicly to everybody else. I have to say I thought their answer was pretty good. They said they’ve actually begun the process now, starting to look for another manager, which I thought right.

“That’s good to hear because you need to plan for everything. They’ve started the process of speaking to and looking at other managers, building all the sorts of data and analysing who should be the next manager of the football club. But what they’ve said is they’re not going to be bounced into – irrespective of wins or draws or losses on the pitch in this next couple of months – making an appointment. They’re going to wait until towards the end of the season.”

Akwa United have announced the signing of five new players as they continue their push for a return to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).

The Promise Keepers are currently top of Conference B in the Nigeria National League (NNL) and have strengthened their squad to maintain their strong form in the second half of the season.

The new signings include forward Dada Oladimeji, midfielders Nsikak Raphael, Kingsley Uduak and Aniebiet Sunday, as well as central defender Melvin Ebitimi.

All five players have joined the team in training and featured in the club’s six mid-season friendly matches.

Club Chairman Joseph Eno expressed confidence in the quality of the new players and urged them to settle quickly into the squad. He also said the club is committed to the Akwa Ibom State Government’s target of returning Akwa United to the NPFL this season, promising top-class welfare and support for the players.

Head coach Paul Offor also said he believes the new players have what it takes to help the team achieve promotion at the end of the campaign.

During the mid-season transfer window, Akwa United released nine players. Midfielder Anietie Uko joined Mbeya Kwanza FC in Tanzania, winger Erikan Francis moved to Heartland FC on loan, while Lazarus Ebuka, Itebu James, Joshua Unoro, Babatunde Omosebi, Onhanedo Onyedikachi, Emenike John and Emmanuel Ita returned to their parent clubs.

Akwa United will face Rovers of Calabar on Matchday 10 on Sunday, 15 February 2026, at the Uyo Township Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm, with the Promise Keepers hoping to complete a double over their neighbours.

David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £5.9m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

Gabriel (captain), Arsenal, defender, £7.1m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

Jurrien Timber, Arsenal, defender, £6.4m – Brentford (a) and Wolves (a)

I’m going for the defensive triple-up again after it worked a treat in gameweek 25.

And Gabriel is the premium captaincy choice this week. He’s averaging 7.1 points per match this season, making him the fourth highest-scoring asset in the game.

The Wolves match feels like a nailed-on clean sheet and, given their current defensive form, you’re hoping they can keep Thiago and Brentford at bay too.

Daniel Munoz, Crystal Palace, £5.8m – Burnley (h)

Chris Richards, Crystal Palace, £4.4m – Burnley (h)

This week’s team is also all-in on the Palace defence at home to struggling Burnley.

Richards has hit ‘defcon’ on 10 occasions this season and missed out by a point four times too.

Munoz, surprisingly, does not stand out stats-wise in many areas, unlike last season.

But you only have to watch a Palace game to see the attacking threat he poses – he’s basically a right-winger.

The Minnesota Vikings probably “won too many games” to be in play for Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love during April’s draft, but the man would love to land in Minneapolis nevertheless.

The comment doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s the kind of signal that keeps Minnesota’s draft radar humming.

Love wasn’t shy last week about his zeal for the Vikings, and if he slid on draft night, well, the purple team might just pounce.

Best RB Prospect in 2026 Draft … Likes the Vikings

Remember Love’s name because there’s a slight chance he ends up in Minnesota.

Love on the Vikings

This one is pretty damn straightforward — Love loves the Vikings.

He said on The Paul Harrington Show last week when asked about the idea of the Vikings drafting him in Round 1, “I would be blessed to go there. Lot of great guys.”

Love, along with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, was heavily in the mock-draft mix for Minnesota two months ago when the team had a 4-8 record. The Vikings, at least for a couple of weeks, held the 10th overall pick in the draft, prime territory for Love and Downs.

Then, Kevin O’Connell and friends won five straight games to close out 2025, nudging the draft pick from 10 to 18 and pricing themselves out of the Love and Downs sweepstakes.

Still, if there’s a way, Love wouldn’t mind turning purple.

The Scouting Report

Love is 6’0″ and 214 pounds with 4.4 speed. In the last two seasons at Notre Dame, he’s banked 2,497 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns, chipping in 5 receiving scores for good measure.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein named a comp for Love — Jahmyr Gibbs — and outlined his scouting report: “Three-phase running back capable of stressing defenses with big-play speed and untapped pass-catching value. Love shared carries but was the heartbeat of Notre Dame’s offense over the last two years.

“He runs with a fierce tempo and processes the front with adequate eyes to find entry points and burst through them. Urgency works in his favor, but he’ll occasionally miss open lanes when he gets too deep too quickly. Outstanding speed erases pursuit angles to the corner and helps him pull away from tacklers once he opens his gait.”

The Vikings haven’t employed a game-changing running back arguably in five years; the last guy was the 2021 version of Dalvin Cook.

Zierlein added, “He’s live-legged with violent cuts in segmented bursts that can elude tacklers but slow his momentum. He’s not a pile-mover but he runs through contact and squeezes out extra yards as a committed finisher.”

“He’s a talented route runner and pass catcher who can work from the slot and mismatch linebackers. Love is a three-down, scheme-independent player who would benefit from a complementary back to preserve his big-play ability.”

A Game-Changer of Offense

While Love probably isn’t gettable for the Vikings after their five-game win spurt to close out 2025, he will change some team’s offense next autumn. He has the production, speed, size, and versatility to step in as an RB1 immediately.

Not for nothing, that’s what’s missing from the Vikings’ offense. O’Connell got the memo down the stretch of the 2025 campaign that he needed to run the ball more frequently, especially with poor quarterback play from J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer. When the shift occurred — not passing the ball more than 60% of the time with struggling quarterbacks — Minnesota ripped off the five-game win streak.

While Love likely isn’t available to Minnesota, aside from a trade, the Vikings will still need a young, dynamic running back, whether that’s Breece Hall from free agency or one of Love’s draft mates, like Jonah Coleman (Washington), Jadarian Price (Notre Dame), or Nick Singleton (Penn State)

Realistic Draft Destinations

Approximately six teams will prevent Love from sliding to the Vikings and fulfilling his de facto request to join the team. The list of teams on the board before Minnesota that could draft Love looks like this:

• Baltimore Ravens
• Dallas Cowboys
• Kansas City Chiefs
• New Orleans Saints
• New York Jets
• Washington Commanders

SI.com‘s Sam Dehring mock-drafted Love to the Chiefs on Saturday and explained, “Some of my picks might be repeats from last week, and this is one of them. It seems likely that the Chiefs could lose Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt in free agency. Jeremiyah Love would be a match made in heaven selection for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Kansas City finished 6-11 in 2025 after a down season and ACL tear for Patrick Mahomes. Lucking into Love for their troubles would feel downright nasty for the NFL and might indefinitely prolong the now-paused dynasty.

Otherwise, if Love tumbles to Minnesota at No. 18, he won’t be upset about it.

Shakur Stevenson has highlighted the type of fighter who is likely to present him with the greatest problems.

The 28-year-old comes off a masterful performance against Teofimo Lopez, losing just one round as he outpointed and dethroned the then-WBO super-lightweight champion last month.

In doing so, Stevenson became a four-division world champion and cemented himself as a top five pound-for-pound star, joining the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.

Because of his truly dominant performance against Lopez, though, many are now wondering whether the elite technician will ever be beaten in the professional ranks.

He has, after all, breezed past most of his 25 opponents with relative ease, utilising his defensive ingenuity and prolific jab to remain largely unscathed.

Prior to his clash with Lopez, the one fighter that many believed would cause him the most issues is William Zepeda, who entered their lightweight contest last July as an unbeaten contender.

Given the style of Zepeda, who typically fights at a terrific pace, it was only natural to suspect that his tremendous punch output would, at the very least, make for a competitive affair with Stevenson.

In reality, though, Stevenson was able to expertly manage his opponent’s intensity through 12 rounds, defending his WBC title via a wide unanimous decision.

Speaking with Cigar Talk, the American insisted that Zepeda is the only fighter that stood even a slight chance at beating him.

“It ain’t going to happen [somebody make a close fight against me]. The most y’all ever going to get is Zepeda – that was y’all’s best hope and chance at getting resistance.

“His style, styles make fights. The style that would give me the most resistance would be the guy who throws a million punches a round, and doesn’t stop punching.”

Unless a fighter emerges with a similar work rate to Zepeda, it is highly unlikely, according to Stevenson, that he will ever be beaten as a professional.

Indiana University Athletics has announced plans for a statue to honor former men’s basketball coach Bob Knight, who won three national titles during his 29 years in Bloomington. 

Knight’s statue will be displayed alongside the 1976 national championship statues in the south lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The 1976 team — Knight’s first national championship squad — remains the most recent Division I men’s basketball team to go undefeated, finishing the year with a 32-0 record. 

Knight, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 83, posted a 662-339 during his time at Indiana that included two more national titles (in 1981 and 1987), five Final Four appearances and 24 NCAA Tournament appearances. He is a member Naismith Hall of Fame, the National College Basketball Hall of Fame, and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. 

The announcement of the commission of Knight’s statue was made on the night where members of the 1976 team were honored at Assembly Hall. 

The announcement of the statue comes just over 25 years after Knight’s run at Indiana ended on a tumultuous note. In September of 2000, Knight was relieved of his duties after violating a “zero-tolerance” policy regarding his behavior. Knight and the school had been under the microscope for months after a former player claimed he had been chocked by Knight during a practice several years earlier. A video later surfaced that appeared to show Knight placing a hand on said player. 

Many Indiana fans were outraged at the school’s decision to fire Knight, who finished his coaching career with a largely successful, seven-year run at Texas Tech that included a Sweet 16 appearance in 2005. 

Knight, who retired from coaching in 2008, kept his distance from Indiana during his first dozen years of retirement. 

“Well, I think that I’ve always really enjoyed the fans, and I always will,” Knight told Dan Patrick in 2017. “On my dying day, I will think about how great the fans at Indiana were. As far as the hierarchy at Indiana University at that time, I have absolutely no respect whatsoever with those people. That in mind, I have no interest in ever going back to that university.”

The relationship did repair itself to the point where Knight did return to Assembly Hall in February of 2020 to honor the 1980 Big Ten championship team. Knight and his former players received a thunderous ovation from fans who had waited nearly 20 years to give the old coach a proper sendoff. 

The statue announcement is confirmation that the school will continue to honor Knight’s legacy as one of the most successful coaches in basketball history. 

“Coach Knight’s influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans is even deeper,” said IU vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics  Scott Dolson. “On a personal level, having started my career here as a student manager under Coach Knight, I saw firsthand the unparalleled standard of excellence he demanded. He taught me, and countless others, that success is the result of meticulous preparation and unwavering discipline. 

“This statue will be a well-deserved tribute to a man who didn’t just win games; he changed how the sport is played.”