Bharath Rammr
Manchester United did not worry about a huge match against Tottenham during the weekend, as manager Jose Mourinho rotated his squad sufficiently in order to keep them fresh. This meant that United were never really a threat for Spurs, who managed a 2-1 win in the final game at White Hart Lane. Jose Mourinho confirmed after the match that he intends to use the same policy in the remaining two Premier league matches, especially considering that United cannot even dream about a top four finish. A disastrous form over the last 10 matches has seen United drop out of contention for Champions League qualification via the league positions.
As a result, the final two games against Southampton and Crystal Palace have seen as meaningless encounters. Jose Mourinho has already claimed that both these games are irrelevant to the club, and focusing on the Europa League is the main priority. The Portuguese manager is set to stand by his words in the midweek action, as it appears that United reserve players Scott McTominay and Demetri Mitchell may be part of the action. Both players did not take part in the reserves team that took on Tottenham and beat the London outfit on Monday night. This is seen as a huge sign of their participation in the upcoming league games.
Champions League qualification is of great importance to United due to several reasons. Even though they are set to finish outside the top four, United will still be able to appear in the group stages of the Champions League next season if the win the Europa League final against Ajax. This represents a great opportunity for the Red Devils. Apart from retaining the £70/year million contract from Adidas, it would also allow the club to make more money from merely taking part in the group stages. United face the prospect of the shirt sponsorship deal with Adidas being cut down by 30% (that’s around 21 million) if the club failed to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Jose Mourinho has already been rotating his squad a lot in recent weeks. However, his options have been severely limited by the several injury problems faced by his squad. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, and Ashley Young are some of the first-team players ruled out for the rest of the campaign. Mourinho confirmed after the 2-1 loss against Tottenham that Daley Blind, who featured for the full 90 minutes against Spurs, will not feature in any part of the game against Southampton.
McTominay and Mitchell now have an opportunity that they would like to grab with both hands.
