Mourinho is set to make changes for Etihad derby clash
JOSE Mourinho has indicated he will rotate his United side again for Thursday’s derby at City.
The Reds boss made eight changes to his side for the stroll at Burnley on Sunday as Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick came off the bench.
Eric Bailly was the only player who played all of the 210 minutes across United’s wins over Anderlecht and the Clarets last week as Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic suffered serious knee injuries. Antonio Valencia was not included in the squad at Burnley and Paul Pogba also came off injured late on.
City’s 120-minute FA Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal featured injuries to key players - including David Silva – and Liverpool’s Premier League loss to Crystal Palace further increased United’s chances of a top-four finish.
However, Mourinho stressed United’s priority is to lift another trophy by winning the Europa League.
“If we beat Celta we go to the final,” Mourinho reiterated. “And yes, it’s important for us to play Champions League but this club wants trophies.
“We cannot give the club the Premier League, we have a 25 per cent chance to win the Europa League and we have to put everything on it.
“So I will rotate players again, I will give rest to some players again and let’s see what we can do.
“And at least in terms of expectation, in terms of emotion for the game, it’s better, a derby with one point difference, than with four. So it was a good victory for us (at Burnley).”
Mourinho is unsure if Pogba will be fit for the City fixture.
“I don’t know,” Mourinho said. “If he’s injured or if it’s just the super accumulation of fatigue in the muscles, I don’t know.
“But as I was saying, if he cannot play Thursday he cannot play Thursday, we play another one and we don’t cry, like we didn’t today.” United’s senior squad currently comprises just 16 outfield players – the minimum required for a matchday squad.
Should Valencia and Pogba be deemed unavailable to face City then Mourinho could recall reserves midfielder Matty Willock, who scored at the Etihad for the second string earlier in the season.
Mourinho did not explain Valencia’s absence at Turf Moor but suggested he was struggling with ‘some problems’ after United drew with Anderlecht earlier this month.
“Antonio is having some problems and it is not possible to play every game,” Mourinho said in Belgium.
But after the Burnley game, Valencia gave a positive update on Instagram, posting a video of him working out in the gym and writing: “Congratulations to all my team-mates, we are still working.”