KEY ISSUES FOR REDS

WHO PARTNERS SMALLING?

HOWEVER disenchanted some United supporters are with Chris Smalling, he is the centre-half guaranteed to start in Spain.

Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have not travelled, Eric Bailly had his first United outing with that late cameo at Huddersfield at the weekend and Victor Lindelof has started only one of United’s six encounters against the Premier League’s ‘big six’.

Bailly returned to first-team training last week and would doubtless be the supporters’ choice to partner Smalling. Lindelof has the benefit of greater Champions League experience, though, and competed in the knockout phase a year ago with Benfica.

WHAT WILL THE FORMATION BE?

MOURINHO switched to 4-3-3 on Saturday and the real test of his dedication to it will come tonight, where he has the choice of five central midfielders to select.

Ander Herrera, as well as Pogba, is available again and that could signal the end of Jesse Lingard’s stint in the team. Few agreed with Mourinho that United played in a 4-3-3 at Newcastle but their midfield trio at Arsenal in December was loose and left Nemanja Matic exposed. The flip-side was Lingard scored twice and Pogba bullied the hosts until his dismissal. Mourinho has seldom used that risk aversive tactic since.

United have not played a back-three since that triumph and Lingard’s recent regression has prompted calls for Herrera’s return

LEFT-BACK ROTATION TO CONTINUE?

IT said much about Matteo Darmian’s lowly stock that he could not get a look-in for Saturday’s FA Cup tie when he is effectively United’s sole out-and-out right-back.

Ashley Young and Luke Shaw are deserving of more opportunities than the Italian, only Antonio Valencia’s return is bound to relegate one of the two left-backs to the bench they were both accommodated on each flank at Huddersfield.