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Man Utd vs Tottenham: Jose Mourinho opens up on squad overhaul – why he's made SIX changes
JOSE MOURINHO has revealed why he’s made made wholesale changes to his squad ahead of their clash with Tottenham.
Jose Mourinho: We made mistakes and we paid for them
Following their shock defeat to Brighton last week, Mourinho has made six changes to his squad to face Tottenham at Old Trafford tonight.
Victor Lindelof has been dropped to the bench while Eric Bailly hasn’t even been named in the squad.
Phil Jones and Chris Smalling start in defence along with Antonio Valencia.
Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera come in while Marcus Rashford takes his place the bench as Jesse Lingard starts.
Alexis Sanchez – who missed the defeat to Brighton through injury – has been named on the bench.
Meanwhile Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira and Anthony Martial also find themselves out of Mourinho’s matchday squad.
“We didn't play well, we made mistakes, we change the team,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“The match before we played well, no mistakes, total control, deserved victory, we didn't change the team.
“If I don't play Valencia, Matic, Lingard when they are ready, I don't think you'd accept it, you'd ask why I didn't play important players if they were ready."
It’s expected that Matic could play in a back five alongside Jones, Smalling, Valencia and Shaw.
However, Mourinho remained tight-lipped on his formation.
“You can expect 11 players, I hope to see 11 players fighting hard with the great organisation we trained for during the week, without the ball when trying to stop a fantastic opponent,” he said.
“But I also expect a team of 11, including the goalkeeper, to work hard for that, to be involved in the attacking dynamic when we have the ball.”