Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he will name his strongest possible side when his side face Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals tonight. It has been confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be featured at Stamford Bridge, as the striker begins the three match ban given to him earlier this week.
While Mourinho admits that things will be difficult in Ibrahimovic’s absence, but that he is determined to face his former club “with everything we have. Things will be difficult without Ibrahimovich” Mourinho told MUTV.
“We have three days and we have to travel, We have to go to London. It’s really hard. We don’t have Zlatan, of course not, but we go with everything we have. We don’t put a [weakened] team out like some clubs sometimes – Manchester United cannot do that.
“We know this Europa League is very important for us, and the FA Cup is beautiful. We cannot go there with a Reserve team, we’ll try to manage it within our squad and get a good team to compete with them.
“Manchester United is Manchester United; it’s the winner of this competition. It’s not Chelsea’s fault we were given this Monday match. We’ll make changes, as we played on Thursday, but we cannot go to Chelsea with a Reserve team.”
Meanwhile, Eric Bailly will be available for selection after serving a one-match European ban in midweek, and Mourinho could shuffle his pack once again, as the Reds continue to fight on all fronts.
“We want to keep two doors open,” Jose added. “We have to keep getting points in the Premier League to keep our chances open and if we get through the knock-out round here, we’re in the quarter-finals and feel the door is open, so we have to try.
“We have a trophy in our pocket, which is a good feeling for everyone. Now we have the Premier League for the fight for the top four and we have the Europa League fight for Rostov.”
On the topic of his latest return to Stamford Bridge, the United manager added:
“Chelsea? It’s no different. Obviously before the game and after the game, I’ll meet some fans and some people I like. The relation with the fans was always good but, for me, it’s just professional.” the boss said. [myad]
