Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard could return for Manchester United’s eagerly-anticipated Premier League clash against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The duo were expected to be out until early March with injuries sustained against Paris St Germain, but both may be available for Liverpool’s visit, with caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more optimistic about Martial (groin) than Lingard (hamstring).
David De Gea is set to return in goal after Sergio Romero started Monday’s FA Cup win at Chelsea. Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo are still fighting their way back from injury.
United were comfortably beaten 3-1 at Anfield in December and that proved to be Jose Mourinho’s final match at the helm.
The Portuguese was known for his mind games ahead of big matches, as was Solskjaer’s mentor Sir Alex Ferguson.
Asked if mind games were something he bought into as a manager, the Norwegian said: “Nah. I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will read what I say.
“I’m not going to read what he says or the players say. That’s further down the line I would think.
“But (Ferguson) would be welcome to have his talk to the players if he wanted to, the gaffer, because we know how much it meant for him to overtake Liverpool.
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“I think our players know what it means for everyone at Man United. No (plans for Ferguson to come in right now).”
Provisional squad: De Gea, Romero, Grant, Dalot, Young, Shaw, Jones, Bailly, Smalling, Lindelof, Fred, Matic, Herrera, McTominay, Gomes, Pereira, Pogba, Mata, Chong, Lingard, Martial, Sanchez, Lukaku, Rashford.
