Football Briefs: 'Huddersfield can pull off Man United upset'

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Huddersfield Town defender Scott Malone believes the club's Premier League win over Manchester United earlier this season will be a confidence boost as they aim to topple Jose Mourinho's side in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round match.

Huddersfield pulled off a shock 2-1 league win over United at the John Smith's Stadium in October but fell to a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford earlier this month.

"We've got Manchester United for the third time this season... we are all looking forward to it," Malone told the club's website.

"They're a good side and put you under a lot of pressure. We've played a deep block against them twice now, beat them at home and lost away.

"It'll be interesting to see what we do Saturday as there's no points to play for. We want a good cup run and we are going into the game to win it."

Huddersfield, who return to league action at West Bromwich Albion on Feb. 24, last won the FA Cup title in 1922, while United have won it 12 times.

Mkhitaryan backs Arsenal to win Europa League

Arsenal have the potential to win the Europa League, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan said after their 3-0 win at Ostersunds in the first leg of their last 32 tie on Thursday.

Mkhitaryan, who won the Europa League with Manchester United last season, provided two assists as Arsenal built a solid advantage ahead of the second leg on Thursday.

"Why not? We have to keep fighting, we have to win every game and then at the end, we'll see where we're at," Mkhitaryan told reporters when asked about Arsenal winning the competition.

The Armenian also said that the Premier League side could not afford to rest key players for the return leg against Ostersunds, ahead of the League Cup final against Manchester City on Feb. 25, despite being in prime position to seal a last 16 spot.

"We have to focus in every game. It doesn't matter if we have got a good result or not. We have to win in every game to get more confidence and to have better success," the 29-year-old said.

"It doesn't matter who we are going to play after the second leg, yes, we have a game in the cup final but we have to play with the same team, I think, and to win at home."

Arsenal host Ostersunds at the Emirates before playing City twice in quick succession, including a home league match against Pep Guardiola's side on Mar. 1.

Scotland to appoint McLeish as manager

Scotland have agreed a two-year deal with former international defender Alex McLeish to become their manager for the second time in 11 years, British media reported on Thursday.

McLeish, 59, was in charge of his national team for 10 games in 2007 and will replace Gordon Strachan, who left in October after failing to guide Scotland to this year's World Cup.

The Scottish FA are expected to present McLeish at a news conference on Friday, having been unsuccessful in their pursuit of Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and Walter Smith.

His first games in charge will be friendlies with Costa Rica and Hungary next month before matches against Peru in May and Mexico in June. His competitive debut will come in the UEFA Nations League versus Albania on Sept. 10 and Israel on Oct. 11.

McLeish was previously named Scotland manager during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign after Smith rejoined Rangers.