Man Utd and Jose Mourinho face a crunch clash against rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, but he might have a task on his hands even putting a team out.
It’s been a difficult season for the Red Devils thus far, as they continue to languish in sixth place in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of the top four and qualification spots for the Champions League.
Their midweek defeat to Valencia ensured that they missed the opportunity to finish top of Group G, and so they will now likely face a difficult draw in the last-16 of Europe’s premier competition.
However, they might have more immediate problems as noted in freelance injury analyst Ben Dinnery’s tweet below, as Mourinho has confirmed that Marcos Rojo has joined a long list of injured stars who are now expected to miss the Liverpool game this weekend.
“I had no other options including a player like Rojo, who I expected to play today and give a rest to Young for example. At half-time, Rojo is injured and is out.” #MUFC https://t.co/v7OG2u9W2z
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) December 13, 2018
As noted by the Manchester Evening News, up to nine players could be absent through injury, with Rojo, Scott McTominay, Victor Lindelof, Alexis Sanchez, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, Matteo Darmian, Diogo Dalot and Anthony Martial all emerging as doubts.
Mourinho will undoubtedly be hoping that at least a few of that group can recover in time to make the squad to face Liverpool, but if that doesn’t happen, the Portuguese tactician could be in a very difficult spot in what is a crucial and significant fixture for various reasons.
With their bitter Merseyside rivals topping the Premier League table too, it’s been a difficult season for the Red Devils in more than one way. The last thing that they need is a defeat to Liverpool, which will undoubtedly give more ammunition to their fans and pundits alike to criticise the manager and players further.
