Paul Pogba will miss the Tottenham fixture on Sunday as he commiserates the death of his father.
Manchester United have put all their eggs in the Europa League basket with a top four finish looking unlikely. However, they still will have to play their remaining three Premier League fixtures, even though they are unlikely to field full-strength sides.
Tottenham, too, have nothing to play for as Chelsea secured the title on Friday with a 1-0 away victory at West Bromwich Albion. However, they will hope to make second spot their own, and could do exactly that with a win against the Red Devils on Sunday.
For Manchester United, injuries have been the name of the game this season, and have played a huge role in them possibly missing out on the top four for the second straight season. Manager Jose Mourinho has an array of sidelined players for the game against Spurs.
Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both suffered ACL injuries, and are guaranteed absentees for the game. Luke Shaw has been in and out of the first team, but went down after playing 10 minutes against Swansea City, and is not likely to return any time soon.
The nightmares continue on the defensive front as Ashley Young and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are both injured and unavailable for selection against Spurs. Their injuries do not appear to be as grave as the aforementioned trio, and could feature again this season.
According to a report by Manchester Evening News, Antonio Valencia has not traveled with the team, and will not be in contention for selection come kick-off. The Ecuadorian is not injured, but possibly fatigued of United’s hectic fixture list.
This could see Axel Tuanzebe retain his place in the team after an impressive performance against Arsenal. Despite ending up on the losing side, the Congolese was one of his side’s better players and justified his selection.
The game’s biggest absentee will, however, be Paul Pogba. The Frenchman, who has been ever present for the Red Devils this season, will miss out due to the death of his father who passed away on Friday. He is expected to return for Wednesday’s clash against Southampton.
Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, confirmed that Eric Bailly will play in the remaining league matches as he picked up a red card in the semi-finals of the Europa League, which will now result in him missing the final against Ajax.
Speaking to the press ahead of Sunday’s game, Mourinho said: “I don’t know about it [the incident against Celta Vigo]. I didn’t see it. I don’t want to see it now, maybe tomorrow, but even if it was unfair, I don’t think the UEFA rules will allow any chance of an appeal.
“So I don’t think he plays in the final. If he doesn’t play in the final, he has to play the remaining matches in the Premier League and give rest to some of the others.”
Spurs, on the other hand, will be without the services of Erik Lamela, Harry Winks and Cameron Carter-Vickers while they will be fretting over the availability of Danny Rose – who could undergo a late fitness test. Otherwise, Mauricio Pochettino has a full-strength squad to take on Manchester United on Sunday.
