Jose Mourinho has a full strength squad at his disposal as Manchester United prepare to host Hull City at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Manchester United host Hull City at on Wednesday, looking to continue from where they left off in their 4-0 rout of Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round on the weekend. Getting a first win in three games will be on the mind of Jose Mourinho as Marco Silva brings his rejuvenated side to Old Trafford.
Anything but three points could potentially see Manchester United lose further ground on their Top 4 rivals, which makes this tie all the more crucial for the Red Devils. Ahead of the match on Wednesday, here’s the all important team news for Manchester United.
The manager confirms @EricBailly24 is fit to face Hull on Wednesday. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Kyhr5q4rSK
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 31, 2017
The report on that front is all positive, as Jose Mourinho has a clean bill of health, with each and every player fit and available for the first time in several weeks. Eric Bailly, who was the last of the absentees to rejoin the first team squad last week, has also been passed fit.
The centre-back returned to Manchester last week after Ivory Coast were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations. Bailly also played the for the Manchester United reserves in the midweek, but was touted to be an injury concern as he had to be substituted after the hour mark due to a slight knock on his ankle.
However, Mourinho confirmed that he has been passed fit and is available for the match. The Manchester United boss also confirmed that the likes of David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are set to return to the starting lineup after sitting out in the FA Cup victory on the weekend.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Mourinho said: “We always play a full-strength team. It depends on the way you look at it but we always try to have a strong team.
“We had some players that didn’t play the last match [against Wigan], some players with a lot of matches played already – people like Valencia, Ibra, Pogba. Some of these players with lot of matches didn’t play but will play tomorrow.”
More team news: “Some players who didn’t play the last match – like Valencia, Ibra, Pogba – will play tomorrow.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/2USAS8qOT7
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 31, 2017
Meanwhile, Mourinho also updated on Ashley Young’s situation, confirming that the Englishman is staying at Old Trafford, and is set to be included in his squad on Wednesday.
Mourinho had said in the aftermath of the win over Wigan that there was a possibility of Young leaving before the end of the winter transfer window, but he is now staying at least till the end of the season.
Mourinho added: “Young is definitely staying. He is selected for tomorrow. He stays with me until the end of the season.”
For the visitors, new signing Andrea Ranocchia could slot straight into the starting lineup on Wednesday, with Curtis Davies (hamstring) ruled out for eight weeks, while Michael Dawson and Harry Maguire are struggling with knocks.
Meanwhile, Silva also has a couple of additional absentees due to the Africa Cup of Nations commitments, with Ahmed Ahmed Elmohamady (Egypt) and Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo) still unavailable.
