You’d certainly argue that Manchester United’s game against Celta Vigo this weekend is the biggest of our season so far. The Red Devils are desperate to secure a place in the final of the tournament, but our Spanish opponents will prove to be a stern test.
Ahead of the game, our injury problems are well documented. At the back we look nothing short of a mess, and those issues were made even worse at the weekend when both Eric Bailly and Luke Shaw hobbled off the pitch.
Jose Mourinho has been speaking to the media about who is on the treatment table. In particular, he was asked about whether Phil Jones or Chris Smalling will be back. He claims that the English pair probably won’t be back in time, but there is some better news regarding Paul Pogba, as well as Marouane Fellaini being available.
“I don’t think they will. That’s my personal opinion, I don’t think they will but I know the players I choose will give everything. It doesn’t matter if I go with [Matteo] Darmian [as a] central defender or [Michael] Carrick or Axel [Tuanzebe], I trust the boys.”Jose Mourinho told the media, as quoted by The Independent.
“They give everything, the spirit is amazing and the group is phenomenal. Fellaini and Pogba will be back for that game so there are a little bit more in terms of options so we will give everything we have.”
Well, it’s fair to say that the defensive problems are a huge issue. Who knows who’ll be lining up as the starting back four against such a dynamic Celta team. They’ll do very well to keep a clean sheet in my opinion, so that just highlights how important it is that we come back to Manchester with that all-important away goal.
As for Paul Pogba returning; that’s key. His creativity could well be the decisive factor when we’re going forward. At the weekend, I lost count of how many times Marcus Rashford made an intelligent run that just wasn’t picked up by his teammates. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes…
Be the first to comment