Mourinho Reveals His Two Guaranteed Starters Against Everton
Reuters / Andrew Yates
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Eric Bailly and Phil Jones will start in Manchester United’s upcoming Premier League fixture against Everton.
The Portuguese coach has laid out his plans for the match against Everton on Sunday, during which his team would be keen to make amends to their disappointing performance against Stoke City last week.
Mourinho spoke to the press after his team won 3-0 against Basel in the Champions League opener last night, and gave his opinion on the defensive pairing of Smalling and Lindelof. He said: “They [Smalling and Lindelof] train really hard. They train together always in the same team because I knew they had to play this match together.”
Jose then confirmed that Eric Bailey and Phil Jones will return for the Premier League match, by adding: “If you want to anticipate the next weekend, I probably play Bailly and Jones because today they didn’t play, because they are fresh, because it makes sense for them to play again, but then two days after we have a League Cup match, so Victor and Smalling again.”
REUTERS/Andrew Yates
Mourinho indicated that he will rotate the team across various competitions, whilst also highlighting his intentions to use Lindelof and other defenders.
“In the Premier League and the Champions League, I have to choose the players in relation to the quality. When I know I’m going to face one of these defensive walls, Victor is probably the best to come with the ball, to attack spaces in midfield, to fight people in between the lines,” said the United boss.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils’ clash against the Toffees is set to be of great intrigue to Wayne Rooney as well as Romelu Lukaku, as the two forwards will be facing their old clubs for the first time since their departure in the summer.
Written by Shorya Panwar 
Has 20+ years of experience managing Schalke in Football Manager 2017. Believes wing-backs are the most complete footballers in the modern/evolved football. Writes weird stuff on his personal blog.