Jose Mourinho will speak to the press this afternoon ahead of Manchester United's Champions League clash with Benfica at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
United go into the game top of Group A with nine points from their three fixtures so far and could secure progression with another win on home soil.
Mourinho's side beat Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime and have lost only once in all competitions so far this term.
The Portuguese will likely be quizzed on injuries and team selection as United bid to extend their winning run in Europe.
Follow live updates from the press conference right here.
Bailly on Lukaku
Bailly has echoed his gaffer’s sentiments on Lukaku.
“Romelu is an excellent player, I have played against him but now I’m fortunate to play in the same team.
“Everyone knows what Romelu is, he’s scoring goals, and the most important thing is that he carries on doing his job like a good centre forward.”
Bailly takes to the stage
Eric Bailly now speaking ahead of the Benfica tussle.
“Tomorrow’s game will be very important for us because we have won three from three and if we win the forth, we will qualify for the next phase This will give us a lot of confidence and be important for us going forward.
“We are a very good team and the other teams are also strong, but what is important for us is that we do well with our games, because that will give us a lot of confidence until the end of the season.”
Full story: Mourinho defends Lukaku once more
Jose Mourinho says Romelu Lukaku is “untouchable” in his eyes after taking Manchester United fans to task for criticising him.
Mourinho questioned why some United fans did not show Lukaku more support during Saturday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
And ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League group game at home to Benfica, Mourinho went a step further, claiming £75million striker Lukaku should be immune from criticism.
“My job is to protect my players and Romelu is one of the players who should be untouchable in terms of respect from everyone,” said Mourinho.
“It’s not one ball or goal that his the post or one save from the opposition goalkeeper that can make Romelu’s contribution below the top level.
“He is playing well and, yes, I have to protect my players and Romelu always deserve that because what he does for the team is fantastic.
“So for me untouchable in my team and also untouchable in the respect and support he deserves from the fans.
“But, as I said, the supporters pay for their tickets [so they are free to do as they want].”
Lukaku should be untouchable
Mourinho has again been speaking about fans apparently booing Romelu Lukaku.
“My job is to protect my players and Romelu is one of the players who should be untouchable in terms of respect from everyone.
“It’s not one ball or goal that hits the post or one save from the opposition goalkeeper that can make Romelu’s contribution below the top level.
“He is playing well and yes I have to protect my players and Romelu always deserve that because what he does for the team is fantastic and to play football for a striker.
“So for me untouchable in my team and also untouchable in the respect and support he deserves from the fans. But, as I said, the supporters pay for their tickets so [they are free to do as they want].
“I don’t think he’s quiet at all. Ask Jan Vertonghen, Tony Alderweireld or Eric Dier if he was quiet, and they are some of the bet central defenders in football.
“The point is scoring goals or not scoring goals, so in the end sometimes that is all people analyse. But he’s not quiet at all.”
Can Martial and Rashford play together?
Mourinho has been talking about the prospect of pairing Marcus Rashford with Anthony Martial.
“We played Martial and Rashford together one week ago so they can play together. What you can’t do is play with 12.
“So we can repeat against Benfica or we can repeat against any other match. Nobody here thinks about any other match than Benfica. Nobody here thinks about Chelsea.”
Mourinho bidding for top spot
United look like cast-iron certainties to make the last 16, but Mourinho is eyeing top spot.
“Our aim tomorrow is to qualify,” declared Jose. “Ten points would be okay to qualify, but our main aim is to qualify first in the group.
“The statistics are what they are but Basel have had good results against CSKA and Benfica, a draw is not bad, but Benfica will give us a difficult match.
“They have their own ambition and pride and they will try to win, we just want to get to the last 16 by finishing first in the group.”
Mourinho in the house!
And he’s straight into team news for Benfica.
“I think its the same.
“We have one training session just to confirm, at 3pm, but the best scenario is that we have the same players as we had last weekend.”
The United stars Mourinho 'does not trust'
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho “does not trust” three of his defenders, according to Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas.
Mourinho’s side have yet to concede a home goal in the Premier League this season, but Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and £31m summer signing Victor Lindelof do not have the full backing of their manager according to Nicholas, who played for Arsenal between 1983 and 1988.
“I don’t think he trusts his defenders,” said Nicholas on Sky Sports’ The Debate show.
“How many times have we had this discussion? Ever since Mourinho got there, he doesn’t trust Smalling.
“I don’t think he’s convinced Jones is his man as he’s not sure whether he’s physically adaptable. He probably think he’s a bit too rash. As we know, Lindelof has had an almighty struggle.”
Bailly hails Martial
Eric Bailly has praised his Manchester United team-mate Anthony Martial’s mentality after the Frenchman came off the bench to net the winner against Tottenham.
The Red Devils defender claims that Martial ‘always has that mentality where he is ready to come on and have an impact’, after he slotted Romelu Lukaku’s flick-on past Hugo Lloris to claim a huge win over their title rivals.
“I think we have a lot of very good players in the squad. When one does not play, the others do,” he said of the 70th-minute substitute.
“The good thing about Anthony is that he is always here to help the team whenever he is needed and he showed that today.
“When Rashford plays, Anthony always has that mentality where he is ready to come on and have an impact - which he did by winning the match.”
What Alli said to Young
Ashley Young and Dele Alli’s 30th minute spat has been well documented since Manchester United beat Spurs 1-0.
The incident occurred after the Red Devils star felt he had been caught in the face by Serge Aurier.
Alli got himself involved and went head-to-head with Young leading to players from both sides separating the pair.
Initially, it wasn’t clear what the Tottenham star had said to spark the row but Young’s response was well known and received a lot of love from United’s fans.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Alli told Ashley Young to ‘retire with a zimmer frame’.
The 21-year-old’s retort quickly led Young to reply, ‘Let me know when you win the Prem’.
Rojo closing in on United return
Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is closing in on a return to first-team action - but won’t feature before the international break.
The Argentine defender has been out of action since suffering a cruciate knee liagment injury in the Europa League quarter-final victory over Anderlecht in April.
He established himself as one of the Red Devils’ key players last season and Jose Mourinho has missed his presence in his backline this term.
United return to action after the international break against Newcastle at Old Trafford on November 18, but Rojo may first feature for the Under-23s against Manchester City the following day.
While Mourinho is looking forward to welcoming back Rojo, he admits a return date for Paul Pogba is still uncertain.
“Again, I have no idea, honestly, I have no idea,” Mourinho said on Pogba. “I have no idea, I’m not in control of his recovery process, he’s not training with me, he’s on individual work and not in my group.”