Manchester United have played 17 matches in the last two months, and manager Louis van Gaal is expected to bring in the changes, as his side face a potentially dangerous Middlesbrough FC side, at the Old Trafford, on Wednesday night.
One player the Dutch manager is sure to rest for this match, is Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, who has not been in the best of forms, this season.
Rooney has especially come under heavy criticism after a goalless Manchester Derby, and could be given a rest by Van Gaal, to let the striker rejuvenate both physically and mentally.
The England international is not the only player that Van Gaal is expected to rest for Wednesday nighta s encounter. Striker Anthony Martial and defender Chris Smalling are also set to be rested by the Dutchman, who says that he is not sure who to play and who to rest, in this match.
“I have a lot of players in the ‘red zone’ because we have had a lot of matches and we have a lot of matches to play,” said Van Gaal to MUTV.
“I have to see if I can use them or not. I have to decide tomorrow [Wednesday]. We need all the days to recover at this moment, so it is difficult to say.”
Van Gaal had withdrawn James Wilson and Andreas Pereira from the Manchester United under-21 squad, ahead of their junior match on Monday, according to the Daily Telegraph. The senior side has a couple of crucial ties ahead of them, as they play Crystal Palace on Saturday, and CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.
‘Good playing side’ Middlesbrough to hurt Manchester United?
The Dutchman also said that Middlesbrough could turn out to be a dangerous side, who can play good football, and could hurt the depleted Manchester United side.
.
a I think Middlesbrough is a good playing side,a Van Gaal was quoted as saying in The Guardian. a They want to play football, but that is also a benefit for us I think. You can also see teams with another playing style and that is more difficult for us, but we can play football against them.a
While Van Gaal did not make it clear who would start, and who would not, it is quite certain that he would be resting a number of his key players for Wednesday night’s clash. It would certainly be interesting to see whether the fourth-placed side from the Championship can trounce the fourth-placed side from the Premier League.