Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw are set to return to the starting lineup when Manchester United host Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Manchester United welcome back Warren Joyce on Sunday, as he brings his Wigan Athletic side to Old Trafford for the FA Cup fourth round encounter. A win for Jose Mourinho’s side would put the Red Devils just three wins away from defending the title they won at the end of last season.
With a place in the Last 16 up for grabs, the visitors would give it their all to ensure a shock progression into the next round. Ahead of the fourth round tie on Sunday, here’s the team news for the hosts Manchester United.
The team news bears good news for Jose Mourinho, as the Manchester United boss doesn’t have any injury concerns whatsoever to deal with. Luke Shaw was the last player to leave the treatment table last week, and the young left-back is in line to make a first start in two months for the Red Devils.
Mourinho has challenged the 21-year-old England international, who has struggled with injuries all through the season, to earn his place back. When quizzed about the possibility of Shaw starting on Sunday, the Portuguese said, “Yes, he plays.”
Eric Bailly may be the only player unavailable on Sunday evening, but the centre-back is all set to rejoin the first team squad earlier than anticipated after Ivory Coast were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations this week.
Mourinho indicated in his pre-match press conference that he intends to start with a strong eleven on Sunday with a win over the Latics being paramount for the Manchester United boss. But he also said that a few rotations are on the cards.
The first change is right at the back, with the Manchester United number one David De Gea rested for the fourth round tie and given a few days off. In the Spaniard’s stead, Sergio Romero is set to start his fifth cup game between the sticks, with Joel Pereira his deputy.
Meanwhile, another certain inclusion on Sunday will be Anthony Martial, who is set to start on the wing. The France international has struggled to nail down a regular spot in the first team this season, and after an average showing against Liverpool a fortnight ago, he was excluded from the matchday squads for the games against Stoke City and Hull City.
Jose Mourinho says Anthony Martial and Sergio Romero will start for #MUFC on Sunday: https://t.co/V7e5veFNjn pic.twitter.com/mUzfPPFPvD
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 27, 2017
Speaking on the changes in his press conference, Mourinho said, “I will play Romero, I will put Joel on the bench and apart from that I go with a good team because we want to try to beat them. Anthony will play on Sunday and if he plays magnificently, he will play against Hull in the next match – it’s simple.
“I will make some changes – that’s obvious. We play Hull again three days after Wigan but I’m going to play a good team with the responsibility to give fans a good performance at home and with the responsibility to try to win against Wigan.”
Apart from the three indicated changes, Mourinho is set to start with a strong side despite being scheduled to play Hull City again in three days time.
So, while we could see stalwarts like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba being rested, the likes of Ander Herrera, Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all expected to start on Sunday. Wayne Rooney is also likely to make the eleven after starting from the bench in the last two games.
