Manchester United will look to exact revenge on Hull City when the Tigers make their way to Old Trafford in the midweek Matchday 23. Hull City beat United recently when the two met in the EFL Cup semi-final, 2nd leg. It was an excellent display from Hull who although won it 2-1, were eventually knocked out because of the aggregate. This was all, of course, apparent to the fans and the whole footballing fraternity except the Manchester United manager, who reiterated that his team had not lost the match, and felt that they drew 1-1 (bizarre).
The jury is out on the level of ludicrosity of the statement but then that is what makes Jose Mourinho what he is. His eccentricity goes hand in hand with his achievements which have been widely accepted wherever he has gone. Coming back to the match, although Hull have given a good account of themselves whenever they have faced the Old Trafford outfit this season, there is a feeling things won’t be the same way this time around.
United have got their mojo back lately and even though Hull City have shown the stomach for a fight and have been impressive against the likes of Chelsea and United themselves, Mourinho must have seen enough of the team to not let them cause the same problems again.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER UNITED XI VS HULL CITY (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
David De Gea will be in goal and look to play a decisive role in his team’s achievements. He might have a quieter afternoon but it makes the job a little bit more difficult if he has to go long stretches without being involved. Concentration will be key. Valencia will be at right-back once again and will look to spend a majority of the match in the opponent’s half. With Bailly unlikely to be played, Jones and Rojo are likely to continue as the centre-back pairing which means Smalling will be on the bench again. Darmian is likely to be at left-back.
MIDFIELD
The usual suspects in the midfield 3 are likely to line-up once again. Carrick will be the deep lying one with Pogba and Herrera on either side of him in advanced areas. Pogba will look to get a move on as far as his end product is concerned.
ATTACK
Jose Mourinho prefers going in with a settled team which might see Martial playing on the left flank once again with Mkhitaryan on the right. He has Lingard and Mata as options, though. Ibrahimovic will be the lone striker and will look to put away the chances that he gets.
