Manchester United will have to do without Wayne Rooney again as Jose Mourinho meets his former assistant in Aitor Karanka on Saturday. Riding on a four-game winning streak in the Premier League, Manchester United will be confident of making it five in a row when they host Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on New Year's Eve.
Liverpool vs Manchester City lineups
Mourinho and Karanka spent three years together at Real Madrid and with the latter now making a name for himself as the main man, it will be interesting to see how he goes up against his former boss.
Karanka will not have to make plans to deal with Rooney for this match – not that the forward was a certain starter even if he was fit – with Mourinho ruling out the England international with a muscle problem. The Manchester United manager would also not give a definitive timeline for Rooney's return, making him doubtful for the game against West Ham on Monday as well.
"He's not ready," was all Mourinho would say after saying "no" to the question on if he knew when Rooney would be available again.
Apart from Rooney, Mourinho does not have any other injury worries to deal with. Luke Shaw is back in training but not quite ready to take his place in the starting lineup, while Eric Bailly could be involved against Middlesbrough. With two games in 48 hours, though, Mourinho will have to careful with his selections.
The same goes for Boro, of course, but Karanka will be keen to get one over Mourinho, which means a strong starting XI could be named. Viktor Fischer is the only player out injured at the moment, while Antonio Barragan is suspended, but the key decision for Karanka to make will be which players suit which match – Manchester United and Leicester City are the opponents on Saturday and Monday respectively – best.
"I know how difficult it can be to play two games in such a short time," Karanka said. "But other teams in the league have the same task and it is my job to manage that situation.
"We have to be careful, but every single point is important so once again I will put out the best team to win each game."
Expected starting XI: Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind; Herrera, Carrick; Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Lingard; Ibrahimovic.
Middlesbrough: Valdes; Da Silva, Chambers, Gibson, Friend; Traore, De Roon, Clayton, Forshaw, Ramires; Negredo.
