Manchester United have enjoyed a break thanks to their early FA Cup exit as Michael Carrick’s side look to bounce back from a loss to Newcastle

Michael Carrick and Manchester United are experiencing an extended break following their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. United were absent from FA Cup action over the weekend after being knocked out in January by Brighton.

Manager Carrick endured his first loss in the Old Trafford dugout last week when his team travelled to St. James’ Park. A late William Osula strike made it 2-1 and clinched all three points for the hosts.

Up next for Carrick’s side is a fixture against fellow top-four contenders Aston Villa, where Marcus Rashford spent half of last season on loan. The England international is currently excelling for Barcelona.

A £26million purchase option in the 28-year-old’s agreement is anticipated to be activated by the Catalan side and a list of potential replacements United could target has emerged. The Manchester Evening News provides you with the latest developments from Old Trafford.

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Marcus Rashford replacements ‘shortlisted’

Having moved to Spain last summer on an initial loan arrangement, Rashford has made an impression. He has netted 10 goals and provided 13 assists for Barcelona across all competitions so far this season.

Rashford has flourished under Hansi Flick and the anticipation is that Barcelona will exercise the option to sign him on a permanent basis, whether that be the £26m reported clause or a reduced negotiated figure. Should Rashford depart, then United would probably seek to acquire a replacement. According to reports, there are five names on their shortlist.

United are believed to have RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande and Como 1907’s Jesus Rodriguez on their radar, whilst Strasbourg winger Martial Godo is also being assessed.

Furthermore, United are said to be tracking Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye, who offers direct running ability and top-flight experience. Meanwhile, reports suggest Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola is emerging as a prime target.

Casemiro U-turn appeal

One United player who appears almost certain to be departing at the season’s end is Casemiro. The Brazilian midfielder’s contract expires in the summer and the club have already announced they won’t be extending it.

Yet in recent months, the 34-year-old has been producing performances of exceptional quality, prompting United legend Bryan Robson to urge Carrick to reverse the decision to allow his exit.

Robson told BoyleSports: “I would encourage Casemiro to stay. He’s had a really good season this year. He’s a top player. He’s got a great football brain. He’s a really good passer of the ball.

“He heads the ball well and when he goes in to tackle, he means it. You don’t stay at Real Madrid for the amount of years he did and win Champions League titles if you’re not an absolute top player.

“People see what you’re really good at. So I think next season he could definitely give us a little bit more with his experience. He was great in Europe last year too.”

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky shows at least 215 live Premier League games each season, an increase of up to 100, plus Formula 1, darts, golf and more.

Overly focused on finding ideal descriptors for Sheza Alibi’s rout in the Randwick Guineas, pilot Luke Nolen got a reminder that the filly supplied him with an extraordinary career benchmark.

Nolen’s 2000th professional win came in that Group 1 – despite him not tallying it mentally.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” Nolen said.

“Every time you get close to a milestone, your form seems to evade you.

“Two thousand wins, a Group One winner in Sydney, it feels pretty good.”

Perfectly timed, Nolen shared the celebration with coach Peter Moody, whose partnership yielded racing’s top honors with phenomenal sprinter Black Caviar.

True, Sheza Alibi must travel a considerable distance to rival that legacy, but as a filly she’s brimming with promise and surmounted a crucial exam by besting colts and geldings in the Saturday Randwick Guineas (1600m), the first filly to do so against males since Mosheen’s 2012 feat.

“She is just something special, this filly,” said Katherine Coleman, who trains her in partnership with Moody.

“She put the writing on the wall previously, but this has been her hardest test to date and to put a quality field away like that? Wowee, I’m shaking.”

Nolen kept steady early on as horses vied for running room, then when Sheza Alibi ($2.10 fav) found stride over the rise, her sharp acceleration made the win inevitable.

She surged to a decisive 3-1/4 lengths success over Autumn Boy ($3.60), with Attica ($11) third a couple more lengths away.

Even with such a polished display, Coleman expects no immediate follow-up, choosing a thorough break for the three-year-old to gear up for the next season.

“The plan always was to have a pretty light autumn because she had such a deep spring preparation,” she said.

“So her and I will be on the road back to Melbourne tomorrow morning. We will see how she comes through it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we put her away now and save her for the spring.”

Regarding a future Cox Plate tilt, Coleman expressed openness.

“Possibly. We will let the dust settle today – never make plans on race day, but that idea is in the back of our minds,” she said.

The Moody-Nolen alliance holds 35 Group 1s and 909 total wins, leading all active Australian trainer-jockey teams.

Per Nolen, the figures reflect their profound connection and steadfastness, bolstered lately by Coleman’s training role.

“We’ve stuck it out a long time, Peter and myself,” Nolen said.

“It goes a long way to show the people we are – resilient, forgiving and loyal – three words I would never mind being described for me ever, and the two of us have got it in spades.

“Katherine is a late addition, but she’s a welcome one. She hasn’t given me a spray yet, but I’m sure it’s coming.”

Autumn Boy earned “gallant” from James McDonald, who lauded his effort in defeat, while Adam Hyeronimus on Attica opined the Spring Champion Stakes champ seeks longer.

“Once he gets to the 300 (metres), he starts to get going so he just needs distance,” Hyeronimus said.

Visit online bookmakers to check racing odds for races such as the Randwick Guineas.

In two months’ time, Gilberto Ramirez and David Benavidez collide in one of the most hotly-anticipated bouts of the 2026 calendar, and a fighter who has regularly sparred both has offered his opinion on the contest.

Benavidez became the youngest super-middleweight world champion of all time when he defeated Ronald Gavril in 2017, but ‘The Mexican Monster’ has since moved up to light-heavyweight and become a two-division world champion.

Now, he seeks success in a third weight-class, as he makes the quantum leap up to the cruiserweight scene and takes on unified WBA & WBO champion ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez upon his debut at 200lbs.

Speaking to FightHype ahead of that battle, two-time world title challenger Gabe Rosado, who has shared a number of rounds with both men in the gym, revealed that he is leaning towards Benavidez due to his intensity and volume.

“Zurdo and Benavidez, we have sparred a number of times, I have lost count of how many times I have sparred those dudes because I have been sparring Benavidez since he was like 15 years old. I used to do my training camps in Arizona, in Phoenix, so I was working with him and then he eventually came to Wild Card [Boxing Club] and the same with Zurdo.

“The difference, I would say, is that Zurdo is more on working on things and Benavidez is more aggressive. Benavidez does like 10 rounds in sparring, so I think that the intensity is just different man.

“The thing is, since I have sparred with them for so long, we always had good rhythm working together and we were really similar to each other.

“I think that it is a tough fight, but I think you have got to favour Benavidez, just because of the volume. I think that Zurdo is going to have to be on his A-game, he is going to have to be the best Zurdo, in order to beat Benavidez. He is going to have to really box well, stick a jab out there and be in tip-top shape [to win].”

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Time will tell whether ‘The Mexican Monster’ can indeed get the victory when the fight with Ramirez takes place on Saturday, May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Shakur Stevenson has offered a balanced assessment of why a showdown between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez is yet to materialise.

The two multi-weight world champions appeared to be on a collision course at 168lbs, with Canelo reigning supreme as the undisputed king.

Benavidez, meanwhile, had held the WBC ‘interim’ title after becoming a two-time world super-middleweight champion, awaiting his mandatory shot at the full WBC title.

Such an opportunity, however, never came to fruition, as Canelo continued to defend his undisputed crown against alternative opposition.

During this time, the Mexican claimed one-sided points victories over the likes of John Ryder and Jermell Charlo but was widely criticised for not facing his most formidable challenger, Benavidez.

Since then, Benavidez has claimed the WBC title at 175lbs and now looks to become a three-weight world champion against Gilberto Ramirez, who he will face for the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles on May 2.

It may seem an audacious move, but the 29-year-old’s frame could see him develop into an effective operator at 200lbs, while Canelo is seemingly best suited to 168lbs.

The natural size difference has therefore made their clash even less likely, with Stevenson telling Joe Rogan that he believes this to be the most significant factor.

“Benavidez is too big for Canelo. I see both sides. I love Benavidez, and I’m a fan of him, so I see the side of, ‘Fight me, bro’.

“But then I see Canelo’s side. He’s like, ‘Man, this dude is 200lbs on the regular. I’m nowhere near that weight so it’s like, why would I fight this guy?’”

Despite coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Terence Crawford, Canelo has been promised a world title opportunity by Turki Alalshikh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this September.

Potential options include Christian Mbilli and Jose Armando Resendiz, the respective WBC and WBA champions, while the IBF and WBO super-middleweight world titles remain vacant following Crawford’s retirement.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced announced on Sunday that New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat had been fined $2,500 for his unsportsmanlike conduct towards San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund during their 2-1 win on Saturday at SAP Center on the road.

The incident occurred with less than four minutes to play in the third period. Horvat skated towards the Sharks bench, let go of his stick and flicked Eklund’s helmet aggressively before skating away. The interaction drew no response from Eklund, although Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli was seen getting agitated by Horvat’s actions.

Unfortunately for the Isles center, the NHL Department of Player Safety also didn’t take kindly to the incident. They gave a briefing about their judgment of the fine on Sunday, which read:

“New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat has been fined $2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct against San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund at the San Jose bench during NHL Game No. 999 in San Jose on Saturday, March 7, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

“The incident occurred at 16:15 of the third period. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.”

Fans reacted on social media after the announcement. They felt that the league was too harsh on Horvat and the massive fine wasn’t warranted.

Here are a few reactions:

“(George) Parros is getting soft in his old age,” a fan said about the head of the NHL Department of Player Safety.

“So players can’t joke around anymore??? What is this,” a fan questioned.

“$2500 for a little bench chat? NHL’s lost the plot,” a fan wrote.

“Chirping someone on the bench is a fine ?? Lol,” a fan commented.

“Cross checks to the face are accepted but a helmet flip is a fine??” another fan questioned.

“Bruh this is literally human nature, grow up NHL,” a fan added.

Both Horvat and Eklund are key players on their respective lineups. Horvat has scored 27 goals in 50 games for the club and is eight goals away from a career high for a season. Eklund is the No.7 overall pick from the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 148 points in his career with 38 coming this season.

Macklin Celebrini shies away from commenting on Matthew Barzal hit

Many fans contested on social media that instead of Horvat, Isles’ Matthew Barzal should have been penalized for a huge hit on Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini a few moments before his incident occurred in the third period. While traversing towards the puck that was in possession of the Islanders, Celebrini took a hit from Barzal and looked shaken up.

During the postgame interviews he walked away when asked about Barzal’s conduct.

The Sharks are locked in battle for the Western Conference Wild Card spots. They are trailing the Seattle Kraken, who hold the second spot, by a point after Sunday.