Manchester United will be buoyed by the return of Eric Bailly and Wayne Rooney from injury and suspension respectively as they host Tottenham on Sunday.
Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling are set to continue their run on the sidelines with some time remaining for them to make their comeback from the respective injuries suffered. Juan Mata was brought off on Thursday with a potential injury and the Spaniard is set to undergo a late fitness test to see if he’s fit for the Sunday fixture.
One good news is the return of centre-back Eric Bailly, who looked to have picked up from where he left off before he suffered the unfortunate injury. He is set to start, as can be figured out from Mourinho’s words in the pre-match conference. The presence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the attack has added some gumption to their play, and his recent performances mean he is certainly set to be in the starting lineup for the game.
Even though United failed to register a win against Everton, the overall performance from the midfield trio of Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Paul Pogba could force Jose Mourinho to retain them in the middle of the park.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to lead the Red Devils’ attack once again with the hottest spot of contention likely to be the other wing, where Mourinho could choose to deploy Juan Mata, whose failure to be fit in time might mean a start for either of Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial.
Phil Jones is the most likely player to partner Eric Bailly in the defence, while Matteo Darmian may continue as the left-back due to the absence of Luke Shaw.
Wayne Rooney has come back into contention for the match after serving his one-match suspension and Jose Mourinho spoke about Rooney and the fact that the club and the manager expect more goals from the captain.
“ We expect more goals from him but we expect more goals from everyone,” said Mourinho.
Tottenham are one of Rooney’s favourite opponents with the North Londoners being one of only seven clubs to be on the receiving end of 10 or more goals by Wayne Rooney.
And, on Sunday, in front of a buzzing Old Trafford crowd, the club captain would be aiming to do what he does best as Manchester United hope to secure a win.
