José Mourinho has insisted that he will field a strong line-up for the game against Chelsea during the weekend. Manchester United come on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with Anderlecht.
The result is a major blow to the club’s hopes of reaching the latter stages of the Europa League, although United will still be reasonably happy after having secured the away goal. The result, though, places a lot more importance on the return leg at Old Trafford next week. Sandwiched between the two games is the huge match against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Manchester United may be feeling less hopeful of finishing in the top four after drawing five out of the last six home matches. As a result, the club have fallen four points begin Manchester City, who occupy the final qualification spots for the Champions League.
Despite this disappointing position in the league table, Mourinho insists that the club will be fighting for a top four position as long as it is mathematically possible for the club to achieve this objective. In order to do so, he will be fielding a strong line-up against Chelsea, who managed a spectacular 4-0 win in the reverse leg at Stamford Bridge. Revenge will also be on the minds of Mourinho to a certain extent.
“When it is still mathematically possible to finish in the top four I think if we play against Chelsea with our second team you would kill me. The football country would kill me. There is no reason not to try while it’s mathematically possible. If on a certain moment of the season we have no chances to get top four and we are still in the Europa League then nobody can criticise. I hope we have no more injuries, no more suspensions and I hope the players keep showing amazing character to keep going and going,” said Mourinho.