‘IMPOSSIBLE TO PICK MY BEST TEAM’ BREN: FOXES NEED MUCH MORE FOCUS
JOHN CROSS
BY
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has warned it will be “impossible” to send out a full strength team to face Leicester – even though it could hand the title to Manchester City.
The Manchester United boss plans to ring the changes against the Foxes tomorrow, with a stronger team likely to face Liverpool on Thursday.
United are assured of Champions League football after beating Aston Villa – the first of three games in five days.
To stop City being crowned champions United must not drop points against Leicester, but Solskjaer says he must think of the bigger picture ahead of the Europa League final and the Euros this summer.
Solskjaer said: “I wish I could have said let’s go full-out in all the games but it’s impossible.
“That’s the hard bit for me knowing if I do play this XI on Tuesday and then again on Thursday it’s impossible, I run too much of a risk in injuring them.
“Talking about integrity in the league and stuff, don’t blame me when I have to make changes because I have to. It’s not safe for them to play all three so I have to prioritise.
“We will sit down with the sports scientists, we can have a theoretical team now but we’ll have to see how they react when they come in and then pick a team Tuesday afternoon.”
Defender Harry Maguire (above, left) is hopeful his ankle injury is not too serious but Solskjaer will make changes against Leicester with a chance for young players, fringe players and mass changes with Edinson Cavani, Nemanja Matic and Eric Bailly (above, right) set to start.
Solskjaer also confirmed that United are reviewing security ahead of the Leicester game and, in particular, ahead of Liverpool on Thursday.
He added: “Security measures are being looked at and I hope we can keep the protests, if there are protests, keep them down to loud voices, nothing violent.”
BRENDAN RODGERS has told Leicester’s stars to match Kasper Schmeichel’s concentration levels if they want glory this season. The Foxes have slipped to fourth in the Premier League after a shock 4-2 home defeat at the hands of battling Newcastle on Friday.
Boss Rodgers blamed a lack of focus as the Foxes conceded after several costly mistakes, including defender Caglar Soyuncu getting robbed when attempting a Cruyff turn.
Rodgers has ordered a huge improvement ahead of a massive week, with a top-flight trip to Manchester United tonight and then the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.
Rodgers absolved Schmeichel (both men together, above) from any blame for the Newcastle defeat. The Leicester keeper made an incredible save, reminiscent of his dad Peter, to deny Allan Saint-Maximin.
And Rodgers reckons the club’s longserving stars like Schmeichel, with title winning experience from 2016, can play a key role in the run-in.
He said: “His concentration is at the highest level all the time, there is nothing he could have done in terms of the goals.
“He is such an important player for us. When you are challenging at the top end of the table or for trophies, the concentration level has to increase.
“That’s the real hard part of it this season. If you don’t, you go loose and you get punished, and that’s what happened to us on Friday against Newcastle.
“Our concentration was nowhere near good enough in certain aspects of our defending and we made too many mistakes. It’s about concentration and if you concentrate you give less possibilities to make mistakes. You do that against good players and they will punish you.”
After the cup final, Leicester finish the Premier League season with games against Chelsea and Spurs.
Rodgers is undaunted as his side have already beaten Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham in either the league or cup this season.
He added: “We are very close to achieving what we want, but we know that we have to fight and we have made it difficult for ourselves, that’s the reality.”