Reports: Manchester United without 4 star players for Chelsea clash
What’s the story?
Manchester United will be without four key players today when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight. The Red Devils have travelled to London without Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Jose Mourinho faces a tough task of selecting a forward for the FA Cup against his former club tonight as all four of them in his squad are out. The crisis has dealt a severe blow to their hopes of defending the FA Cup.
In case you didn’t know...
Manchester United are set to take on Chelsea in the FA Cup sixth round tie at Stamford Bridge tonight. The Blues' are going in with a fully fit squad while the Red Devils are having a striking crisis.
Mourinho's men were thrashed 4-0 by the hosts in their Premier League fixture earlier this season. The Red Devils were expecting to take revenge for the same, but now things are hanging by a thread for them.
The Chelsea manager is heading back to Stamford Bridge for the 2nd time after the club sacked him in December 2015. Despite being sacked twice by the club, he is regarded as their best manager in recent times.
The heart of the matter
Rooney, Marital, Rashford and Ibrahimovic will not be featuring for the Red Devils in their FA Cup 6th round tie against Chelsea.
Reports suggest that Rooney and Martial are out of the match because of injuries. The Manchester United captain is said to have been on the end of a crunching tackle from their defender, Phil Jones during training.
Martial has also injured himself in training according to various reports. Rashford, on the other hand, is said to be ill and hence he has not travelled with the squad to London.
Meanwhile, Manchester United #1 striker this season, Ibrahimovic is suspended. The FA charged the Swedish International for improper conduct during their 1-1 vs Bournemouth. He was handed a 3 match suspension for elbowing Tyrone Mings.
Manchester United’s squad that has travelled to London:
| David de Gea | Sergio Romero |
| Dean Henderson | Marcos Rojo |
| Daley Blind | Eric Bailly |
| Timothy Fosu-Mensah | Antonio Valencia |
| Chris Smalling | Matteo Darmian |
| Phil Jones | Luke Shaw |
| Marouane Fellaini | Michael Carrick |
| Ander Herrera | Jesse Lingard |
| Ashley Young | Paul Pogba |
| Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Juan Mata |
What’s Next?
Mourinho is expected to play with a makeshift forward tonight against Chelsea. The manager has claimed before that he is not concentrating much on the FA Cup as his top priority this season is to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are currently the favourites to start up front for the Red Devils. The Armenian is said to be the favourite right now.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Manchester United will find it tough to play without a forward today, but Mourinho is known for grinding out results. If they do not go into the game with a solid plan, they will be in for another thrashing.