Manchester United will be missing two key first-team players for the highly-anticipated Manchester derby on Wednesday.
After suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of his former employers Chelsea, Jose Mourinho will be looking to return to winning ways as his side takes on Manchester City in the EFL Cup.
The last time Mourinho’s United faced the Citizens, they ended up on the losing side. Goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho proved to be sufficient as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s strike proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
Old Trafford will once again play host to a highly-billed Manchester derby, but Mourinho will have a few selection dilemmas due to the injuries suffered by key members of his first team.
Summer signing Eric Bailly has emerged as a mainstay at the heart of the United back line and has put in riveting performances time and again for his new club. However, the Ivorian succumbed to a knee injury in the weekend’s game against Chelsea – giving Mourinho’s plans a huge dent at the club. BBC reported that the defender hopes to return to full fitness in two months.
Another player set to miss out is midfielder Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian has been used by Mourinho due to his physical presence in the middle of the park, but will not be able to offer his services against City because of a knee injury he picked up after David Luiz went studs first into him on Sunday.
Michael Carrick has been tipped to replace the injured Belgian while Paul Pogba could be handed a breather due to a hectic schedule. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is completely fit and may finally be included in the matchday squad. The Armenian joined Manchester United this summer, but has only managed to play 45 minutes for his new club.
Luke Shaw, too, has recuperated from an injury and could start the game against Manchester City. Despite being fully fit on the weekend, he was forced to watch from the sidelines as a hapless looking United defence shipped in four goals against a ruthless Chelsea attack.