With Champions League qualification secured, Manchester United have turned their attention to Sunday’s derby clash with Manchester City.
Jose Mourinho’s men sealed their place in the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition with a 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday at Old Trafford and are now preparing to try and become the first team to beat City in the Premier League this season.
Second place United are eight points behind leaders City, so avoiding defeat is imperative for Mourinho’s team.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho arrives at training as focus turns to Manchester City
Mourinho said Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ‘a big chance’ of featuring against City
Paul Pogba is out of the Manchester derby after being sent off in the 3-1 victory over Arsenal
Romelu Lukaku ended his scoring drought against CSKA Moscow – just in time for City
Pep Guardiola’s side, meanwhile, head into the match off the back of their first defeat since April but it was a heavily rotated side that fell to a 2-1 loss at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Last Saturday, United recorded a commanding 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium but Paul Pogba was sent off for a rash challenge on Hector Bellerin.
As a result, he misses Sunday’s showdown with City but has vowed to still be on hand to support his team-mates in the build-up.
‘Unfortunately, I won’t play, but I’ll be there to help the team mentally,’ Pogba said. ‘To win those games, you need to give everything. You need to be there offensively and defensively.
‘You need to kill the game when you have one chance because they are City and they have quality as well up front and they can kill the game at any time.
‘They’re first for good reason, because they’ve been doing great at the start of the season. They keep winning, they didn’t lose one game and obviously, mentally, they’re very strong. We need to be as good as they are, mentally.
United defender Matteo Darmian pictured arriving at Carrington on Thursday morning
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be hoping to make his first United appearance since November 25
Sergio Romero will drop back to United’s bench to make way for David De Gea against City
Mourinho said that Marouane Fellaini has a chance of making an appearance against City
‘Mentally, I need to be there to boost the team and, hopefully, it will help. I have complete trust in the team. Even if I’m not there, I’ll be there watching the game, giving positive energy and, hopefully, we’re going to win.’
Mourinho said after the Moscow victory that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ‘a big chance’ of playing against City but Eric Bailly and Michael Carrick will join Pogba on the sidelines.
The United boss added that Marouane Fellaini and Phil Jones have a chance of playing.