Erik ten Hag confirms Manchester United star will miss Nottingham Forest clash this weekend 

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Anthony Martial won't feature in their Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest at City Ground on Saturday, December 30.

The French striker has been out of action since their 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth on December 9 due to an illness. He hasn't recovered in time for their upcoming clash against Nottingham as well. In a pre-match press conference, Ten Hag said about Martial (via Centre Devils):

"He’s unwell. He's not available [vs Nottingham Forest]”

Martial has made 19 appearances across competitions this season for Manchester United, scoring two goals and providing two assists. He has started just seven games, having fallen behind summer signing Rasmus Hojlund in the pecking order.

The Red Devils, meanwhile, have struggled in the goalscoring department in the Premier League, having scored 21 goals in 19 games. Forwards Martial, Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Alejandro Garnacho have scored just seven league goals between them.

Manchester United seventh in the league standings, 11 points behind leaders Liverpool and six behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

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Erik ten Hag on Manchester United's mentality and the ability to compete with any team in the league

The Red Devils' performances have been heavily criticised this season regardless of the results. While they have faced 13 losses in 27 games across competitions, even some of the wins have been unconvincing.

However, Manchester United put in a good performance against a high-flying Aston Villa at Old Trafford last time out. Despite conceding two goals from set-pieces, they created plenty of chances and won 3-2.

In the pre-Nottingham Forest press conference, Erik ten Hag was asked if the performance sets the benchmark and the importance of consistency. He replied (via manutd.com):

"Also, that's about us, so we proved despite all the setbacks - not any team can deal with so many setbacks we have had. So the number of points we are not satisfied [with]. But when we have all the players back, this squad is strong and we proved it against Arsenal, against Liverpool, against Villa who are number one, two and three in the league. We went head-to-head and we could have won all the games.

"We didn't, but definitely in the last game our side proved it. We showed how hungry we are, [we showed] determination. [With] the right mentality, we can beat anyone."

Manchester United have won just one of their last five games across competitions. They will hope to see off Nottingham Forest, who would be confident after a 3-1 win over Newcastle United at St. James' Park.