Mourinho not planning on switching goalkeepers for European ventures
Sergio Romero's minutes are set to be slashed at Manchester United after Jose Mourinho revealed he'll no longer strictly adhere to fielding different goalkeepers in league and cup competitions.
David De Gea will therefore start Tuesday's Champions League group stage visit from FC Basel. The Spaniard has recorded five clean sheets in his past six matches at club and international level.
The boss confirms @D_DeGea will start against FC Basel: "He is doing really well and is very confident, & I'll go with him again tomorrow." pic.twitter.com/JNStJETG6e
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 11, 2017
In the 2016-17 campaign, De Gea's deputy Romero started in the victorious runs in the League Cup and Europa League, and played in the FA Cup matches until elimination against eventual runner-up Chelsea at the quarter-final stage.
There will be enforced changes for Mourinho in his defence. Both Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are suspended for the game, so Chris Smalling and £31-million summer arrival Victor Lindelof will be called into the starting XI. It will be the latter's first appearance since he made his competitive debut in the 2-1 UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid in August.
"Even if Bailly and Jones were not suspended, probably I would still play Lindelof and Smalling tomorrow. They are at the same level, they are just different players," Mourinho said.
He added: "I think it's easier for (Lindelof) to play in the Champions League, it's more comparable to the Portuguese style of play than the Premier League. He needs a bit of time for the Premier League, but step by step he's going to be there. There are reasons for the other boys to be worried because Victor is a very good player."
The Portuguese boss also hopes to welcome Marouane Fellaini to the training pitches soon after he sat out Sunday's session. Mourinho declared the lanky Belgian "a very important player for me, much more important than you can imagine."