Jose Mourinho

Mourinho's team news for Liverpool clash

Friday 09 March 2018 13:30

Jose Mourinho says Marouane Fellaini could be back in the Manchester United squad for Saturday’s crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool.

The Belgian midfielder has not featured for the Reds since being substituted in the second half of the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on 31 January after undergoing surgery on an ongoing knee problem.

The boss also confirmed that defender Eric Bailly is fully fit after making only two substitute appearances since returning to the fold after three months out with a knee injury.

Mourinho suggested in an interview with MUTV that Anthony Martial would not be available, after missing Monday’s 3-2 win at Crystal Palace through injury.

“It’s basically the same [squad],” he said. “The people injured are recovering step by step and a few of them are very, very close to a return – but not yet. We are fine, we have a squad ready for everything. The number we choose – 23 – was to protect them and we are coping with that.”
Fellaini is back in the squad for the first time since limping off against Spurs

Saturday’s eagerly awaited encounter at Old Trafford will be United’s 200th meeting with Liverpool in all competitions stretching back to 1894 – but the boss played down the significance of the historic rivalry.


“In my mentality, every match is the same,” he told his press conference. “I'm not very good on that culture ‘this rivalry is special, that match is special’. I've never been very good at it. I never look to AC Milan has the biggest rival, I never look at Atletico as the enemy, I never look to Spurs or Arsenal as the big rival, I've never been any good on it.

“For me it is just a big match, two historical clubs, not just in England, but in the world. In this moment, [there are] important points for the top four, important points for second position, which is better than third or fourth place. I still don’t look to some matches as special opponents. It's just a big match, because we are speaking about two big clubs.”

MUTV’s exclusive live build-up to the match starts at 10:30 GMT on Saturday.

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