Mourinho recalls big guns for EFL Cup as he vows to hit Hull with ‘all the power we have’

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will recall Zlatan Ibrahimovic, pictured, and Paul Pogba for tonight’s tie against Hull City in the EFL Cup, a competition on which he has always placed importance.

He won the trophy as Chelsea boss in 2005, 2007 and 2015 and remarkably has never lost a game inside 90 minutes in the competition – exiting on penalties to Charlton in the 2005-06 season, in extra time to Sunderland in December 2013 and again on penalties, this time to Stoke, last season.

He said: “We are going to face this Hull match with everything we have, with all the power we have. We know that it’s two legs but the second leg is away, so if you can do something in the first leg that gives you an advantage, we are going to try and do that.”

Hull appointed Marco Silva as their new manager last week and the United boss, when speaking to his fellow Portuguese on Friday, did not sugarcoat the task facing him, though he believes Silva is well prepared for such a mission.

“It’s not easy to come to the Premier League when you are a foreign coach,” Mourinho stated. “He knows that he’s going to face a difficult challenge, they are bottom of the league with 13 points, but it’s a big opportunity for him. “In spite of (being) a young guy, he’s experienced because he’s stable, very mature.

“I would love him to do well but we all know that in the Premier League when you’re bottom of the league it’s hard to jump.” Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho is set to return after almost seven weeks out to boost manager Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options.

Klopp is unrepentant about fielding the club’s youngest ever line-up in the FA Cup goalless draw at home to League Two Plymouth.

Coutinho’s comeback after ankle ligament damage could help alleviate that issue at Southampton in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final tomor-