Manchester United will host Hull City Wednesday after what was a quiet January on the transfer front at Old Trafford. Perhaps reflective of the team’s upturn in form that has seen them go 13 games without defeat in the Premier League, Jose Mourinho has not welcomed a single new arrival during the transfer window.
Two players, Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin, have moved on from Manchester United, a factor which led Mourinho to insist ahead of the visit of Hull that nobody else would be heading out before the end of the season. Both captain Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young have been linked with moves to the Chinese Super League, where the transfer window does not close until the end of February, potentially ensuring several more weeks of speculation.
But, despite both men finding themselves out of the team of late, Mourinho is adamant that his squad cannot afford to be depleted further.
“We lost two players from the squad and you can say Memphis and Schneiderlin didn’t play a lot but the reality is that they played some matches and when they played other people didn’t – they rested,” he said Tuesday.
“So our situation is difficult – we lost two players, we can’t do more.”
Jose Mourinho manager of Manchester United waves to fans after the Emirates FA Cup Fourth round match between Manchester United and Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford, Jan. 29, 2017 in Manchester, England. Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
After a difficult start to his reign, results have picked up for Mourinho of late. However, back-to-back draws in its last two Premier League outings, against Liverpool and Stoke, has left Manchester United four points adrift of a coveted place in the top four.
United also tasted defeat at Hull City last week, although the result was still good enough to take the Manchester club through to the final of the EFL Cup 3-2 on aggregate.
Still it Mobilbahis was another morale boost for Hull since the arrival of Marco Silva as manager earlier in January. Given the unenviable task of rescuing the Premier League’s bottom club, Silva led the team to its first league win in more than two months against Bournemouth.
There was less to celebrate Saturday, however, as the Yorkshire club went down 4-1 to Championship outfit Fulham in the FA Cup. Silva has also had to stomach the loss of midfielder Jake Livermore and the club’s most influential player in the first half of the season, Robert Snodgrass, in the January transfer window.
Still, Silva has been able to add to his ranks, including welcoming center-back Andrea Ranocchia on loan from Inter Milan until the end of the season on transfer deadline day. With Curtis Davies out for eight weeks with a hamstring injury and a doubt still over the fitness of Michael Dawson, Ranocchia’s arrival comes at an opportune time.
“Andrea is a good signing for us and he plays in a position that we needed to add to,” Silva said as Ranocchia was unveiled Tuesday.
“We are happy with Michael Dawson, Harry Maguire and Curtis Davies but in these last games they do a lot to help the team. With the injury to Curtis now, we needed to bring in one more player.”
Silva’s Portuguese compatriot Mourinho, meanwhile, will have defender Eric Bailly fit and available for Wednesday’s encounter after the Ivory Coast international returned from African Cup of Nations duty. Mourinho will welcome several players back to the team after he made a string of changes for Manchester United’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
Prediction: There have been promising signs for Hull under the charge of Silva, but the loss of Snodgrass is still a huge blow to the team’s chances of steering clear of the relegation zone. Manchester United sorely need to get back to winning ways on Wednesday and Mourinho’s men, many of them fresh from a weekend rest, should have the quality to do just that.
Predicted Score: Manchester United 2-1 Hull City
Kickoff Time: 3 p.m. EST
TV Channel: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
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