Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has insisted that the Reds will need to beat one of the best teams left in the competition if they want to progress in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag's side welcome Fulham to Old Trafford for their quarter-final clash, with United aiming to secure their place in the next round as they hunt three major trophies this season. The Reds, who won the Carabao Cup last month, can still win the FA Cup and Europa League this term.
While United are favourites to progress to the next round, Fulham have enjoyed an impressive season and currently sit ninth in the Premier League table. Therefore, Spanish shot-stopper De Gea is under no illusions as to the difficulties the Reds' opponents may pose at Old Trafford.
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Speaking to club media about the clash with Fulham, the 32-year-old said: "I think it is probably one of the best teams in the draw. Fulham have been doing really well this season."
He added: "At the end it doesn’t matter who we’ll play against because to get to the final and win a trophy we’ll have to beat the best teams in the competition: let’s keep going!"
De Gea's thoughts were echoed by Bruno Fernandes, who also insisted that Ten Hag's side will need to "beat the best" in order to reach the FA Cup final this campaign.
"As David said, we have to beat the best to be in the final," the Portugal international said. "Fulham is a really tough team, they’re playing really well with a manager that I know really well.
"They have good players, they have been in a good moment with confidence; we played them there [at Craven Cottage] and we knew how tough it was but we have to do our job. We want to beat them and will do everything we can to be in the semi-finals."
The Reds secured the victory when the two sides last met back in November, with Alejandro Garnacho's 93rd-minute winner proving the difference in a 2-1 victory in the top flight.
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