Jose Mourinho threatens to drop star Man Utd players ahead of FA Cup semi-final vs Spurs

Posted Wednesday, April 18, 2018 by squawka.com

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has indicated he is prepared to drop first-team regulars over issues with form ahead of the trip to Wembley on Saturday.

Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera all face the chop for the clash against Tottenham, which follows a midweek match with Bournemouth.

The Old Trafford side have taken on the Lilywhites on 13 occasions in the history of the FA Cup. Across those matches they boast five wins and four draws, while Spurs have four wins.

The sides haven't met in the FA Cup since a fourth-round tie in 2009, in which two quick-fire goals from Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov secured a 2-1 victory for the Red Devils.

The Portuguese boss will be looking to replicate the result of that evening, but he has warned his players that he isn't afraid to drop senior members of his squad.

This comes after United handed local rivals Manchester City the Premier League title following their shock 1-0 loss at home to bottom club West Brom Sunday.

'Some first-team Man Utd players don't have a place in my team v Spurs'

The United boss was quizzed on whether he would be "rotating" the team against Bournemouth to rest star players, to which Mourinho said, as reported by The Telegraph: "Rotating is not the right word – if I play a player against Bournemouth and the player is phenomenal, he plays the semi-final.

"So it is not rotating, because rotating looks like a player that plays against Bournemouth is to give a rest to somebody that is going to play against Spurs in the semi-final.

"So the word is not rotation – it is an opportunity for people, for some people to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs, and some of the guys who played [against West Brom] don't have a place in that team [against Spurs]. They don't have a place in that team."

The FA Cup is the final opportunity for both sides to pick up silverware this season, having both gone out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage while Manchester City have already claimed the Premier League and Carabao Cup double.

A win against the Cherries in midweek would all but confirm United's position in the Champions League qualification slots for the current campaign and leave them four points clear of third-place Liverpool. This would be the first time United have played consecutive seasons in Europe's premier international club competition since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager.