Jose Mourinho is set to give a flurry of youth prospects a run in into the first-team in front of a packed Old Trafford as Manchester United host Crystal Palace.
There is an air of disappointment and expectancy around Old Trafford as Crystal Palace come visiting. The disappointment stems from their failure to challenge for the title another season after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. The expectancy of the prospect of getting back into the Champions League, if they triumph in the Europa League final.
Another prospect that adds to the expectancy is Jose Mourinho’s open announcement of giving youth a chance on Sunday, with a flurry of youngsters taking part in first-team training and several among them are set to feature against Crystal Palace.
I’m MEGA excited today!!!
Jose Mourinho giving the kids a chance in front of a packed stadium is great!
They will ALL show up ???#MUFC— Billy Meredith (@UrmstonLordMUFC) May 21, 2017
However, two first-team players are confirmed to take part in the match, with Jose Mourinho stating in his pre-match conference that Paul Pogba is set to take the field – having returned from his personal leave – along with Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who has managed to recover from his shoulder injury – one sustained in the Manchester derby.
“Paul Pogba is fine. He knows that he needs to play on Sunday because he hasn’t played or trained for a long time and he needs these minutes on the pitch, so he plays against Palace. Tim Fosu-Mensah plays on Sunday and, if the reaction is good, and if he manages to play the game without problems, he’s a new option for us for the final.”
“You will have the two goalkeepers, Joel Pereira and Kieran O’Hara. We will have Demi Mitchell, Scott McTominay, Josh Harrop, Matty Willock, Angel Gomes and Zachary Dearnley. I think that’s it.”
Mourinho also hinted at Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini’s likely unavailability for Sunday.
“Chris Smalling has a problem, but a small problem that I think is no problem at all for next week. It’s a problem for the weekend but not for the final. Marouane Fellaini is the question mark; we wait for today’s scans, we decided not to do it yesterday. Again, his feelings aren’t bad, but let’s wait.”
Learn more about exciting young #MUFC forward @AGomes_47: https://t.co/5KA0HPXnGU pic.twitter.com/HcGJHZzsj0
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 20, 2017
Of the youngsters mentioned, Angel Gomes is the one that has been grabbing eyeballs for a long-time in the Under-18s and there is a real sense of expectancy around the player’s future potential.
However, the game could serve as a real eye-opener to Mourinho as well, who could be in for a surprise, if the youthful side on Sunday manage to go toe-to-toe with the much experienced and cultured Crystal Palace side.
