Manchester United will rest several players during their colossal Premier League clash against Arsenal.
United’s manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he will rest several players ahead of the game on Sunday, as he tries to keep a fresh squad ready to battle the second leg of the semi-final against Celta de Vigo.
Marouane Fellaini will certainly miss out, due to suspension, while Ashley Young will be doubtful after he limped off at Balaidos. The star of the last game, Marcus Rashford, also seemed like he was hobbling off, but Mourinho has hinted that it is nothing serious.
Meanwhile, Luke Shaw, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo are out for the rest of the season.
Tim Fosu-Mensah might remain sidelined, but the squad does have some good news as Chris Smalling might play this game, and so might Phil Jones. Juan Mata, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney are likely to feature in this game since their experience can prove to be handy against an unpredictable Gunners side.
David De Gea will take up the goalkeeping responsibility even as Sergio Romero maintained another clean sheet against Celta Vigo. Mourinho, however, cleared the air and said that both keepers are equal in all aspects.
“I don’t like to say this competition is for one keeper and that competition is for another one,” explained Mourinho in the pre-match press conference. “Sergio played one match in the Premier League, David played two matches in the Europa League against Feyenoord and Fenerbahce.
“Sergio also played one match in the League Cup, David played in the other matches and in the final. I don’t like that complete separation. But, Sunday, we play David. So, certainly we have two fantastic goalkeepers and we have a third goalkeeper [Joel Pereira] that I think will be the best Portuguese goalkeeper of the next generation. We have great goalkeepers and anyone in goal, my trust will be in them.”
Arsenal, on the other hand, are also vying to secure a top-four finish, and a defeat in this game would mean that they’ll fall eight points behind Manchester United, and it’ll also destroy their Champions League dreams next season.
It is no secret that there has always been a fierce rivalry between Wenger and Mourinho, which will add another interesting facet to this game.
In the pre-match press conference, Wenger did admit that it is a do-or-die situation for them. “It is a big game. Of course, every big game boosts your confidence, but for us, more than focusing on the fact it is Manchester United, a big club and a big rivalry over the years, what is important is to have the chance to achieve our target. We have no choice, we have to beat them,” said the Frenchman.
Granit Xhaka faces a late fitness test after an ankle injury during the game against Tottenham.
“We still have Granit Xhaka out from the kick he got in the game. Mustafi’s back in normal training. That’s basically it,” confirmed Wenger.
Lucas Perez is another player back in contention, while Jeff Reine-Adelaide is ruled out until the end of the season, and Santi Cazorla will sit this one out as well.