FA Cup
Man Utd Team News: Mourinho Confirms Duo Will Return As Boss Plans To Rotate
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that these two players will start as he looks to rotate his squad for Man Utd’s FA Cup clash with Reading tomorrow.
Manchester United will be looking to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup when they take on Reading at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
Ahead of the game, Jose Mourinho has been speaking at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s given reporters a team news and injury update.
The Portuguese coach was pleased to confirm that they have no fresh injuries worries to contend with meaning United are in the unenviable position of having no injuries within their squad.
That means that Wayne Rooney is finally back in contention after recovering from a thigh injury that he sustained in training on the eve of United’s clash with Sunderland on Boxing Day.
Rooney missed the last three games but returned to full training earlier this week and Mourinho has confirmed his skipper will be in the starting line-up to face Reading tomorrow afternoon.
Luke Shaw is also pushing to make his comeback after shaking off a groin strain that’s kept the left-back on the sidelines since the League Cup quarter-final win over West Ham in late November.
Mourinho didn’t divulge whether Shaw would be in the starting eleven tomorrow but he did confirm to reporters that Sergio Romero would replace David De Gea in goal while Bastian Schweinsteiger is also an option in midfield.
The United boss is ready to rotate his team and use the full scope of his squad following the hectic festive period but Eric Bailly won’t be available as he’s with the Ivory Coast squad preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Mourinho is quoted as saying by ManUtd.com:
“There are zero injuries. Zero injuries! We have 27 players and zero injuries. We have every player available apart from Bailly, who is in the African cup.
“Yes, we have to rest players. Some players, they need a little rest. Many players, they need to play. Many players deserve to play. I trust them all. I know that, if I change three or four players in the team, some people will say there is a risk. Some people will say we do that because it is a Championship team but Reading is better than some Premier League teams.”
All squad fit so Mourinho will "make changes". Schweinsteiger in contention to start #MUFC
— Ian Irving (@ianirvingtv) January 6, 2017
United take on Hull City in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi final on Tuesday night before entertaining Liverpool at Old Trafford the following weekend so it’s understandable Mourinho has decided to rest his key men tomorrow.
The likes of Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are all set to be given a breather with the likes of Chris Smalling, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford pushing for starts. [check out our predicted starting eleven here]
