Jose Mourinho confirmed there are no fresh injury concerns for Manchester United as they host Newcastle United in a must-win tie on Saturday.
Manchester United are in dire straits. Jose Mourinho knows well enough that anything less than three points might spell the end of his managerial tenure at the club. The Portuguese though, will be happy that he goes into the match against Newcastle without any fresh injury issues.
David De Gea is one of the automatic selections. But, the back four is questionable. Victor Lindelof looked unimpressive against West Ham United and was hauled off prematurely. Chris Smalling is expected to start. But, his partner could change, with Eric Bailly putting in a good shift during the midweek.
Antonio Valencia failed to have any impact against Valencia and could lose his spot to Diogo Dalot. The left flank is also under consideration, with Jose Mourinho confirming in his pre-match conference, that Ashley Young is fit and in contention to start the game against Newcastle United.
“No, it’s exactly the same [squad]. No new injuries and the players who were injured [are still out] with the possibility of Ashley Young coming back to the squad but Ashley was really a minor situation.”
Luke Shaw though, should get the nod owing to his form over the last couple of months.
In midfield, we could see Fred return to the starting lineup to accompany Paul Pogba in midfield. Nemanja Matic should replace Marouane Fellaini as the designated holding midfielder in the midfield three.
The attack though, is where we could see some surprises. Marcus Rashford is likely to be the only one that is guaranteed to start after a sprightly cameo against West Ham United. With Romelu Lukaku out of form, the Manchester United academy graduate should take the striker’s place upfront.
Alexis Sanchez has been singled out for criticism by Jose Mourinho, albeit not publicly. The manager might be looking to get a reaction out of the Chilean and is likely to hand him a start on the left on Saturday. The right wing should see Juan Mata start, especially with Jesse Lingard still on the sidelines.
But, should Jose Mourinho look to change things, he could also go for the young Andreas Pereira on the right. The youngster has prior experience of playing out wide and could provide an extra dimension to the United attack. Mata though, is the ideal man and should start on the right.
