Darren Way has said he does not expect José Mourinho to gamble on team selection against Yeovil Town on Friday after Manchester United came unstuck on their last visit to the West Country, when they lost at Bristol City in the Carabao Cup.
Mourinho rested Chris Smalling, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku among others at Ashton Gate last month but they could feature in the FA Cup fourth round at Huish Park, and Alexis Sánchez is in United’s squad after his move from Arsenal.
“I reckon it will be a stronger team than they played against Bristol City, I really do,” Way said. “Whether Mourinho takes that gamble to make the changes he made against City, I’ll be very surprised. He is not going to come here and take this lightly. By watching them over a number of years as a Chelsea fan, I still think Mourinho’s the best.
“The guy’s a winner, he wins trophies year after year. He’s probably a season away from winning the league with Manchester United. Mourinho’s teams are strong and aggressive, so we have to match that, but as long as we have that concentration, I expect us to put in a really good performance. I would love to take them back to Old Trafford, that’s for sure.”
Yeovil will be without the former Manchester United trainee Otis Khan, who begins a five-game ban after being sent off against Chesterfield last weekend after pushing the referee, Kevin Johnson. The striker and captain, Francois Zoko, who is expected to lead the line, insists it is important the players enjoy the test.
“I started [my career] in France where I played against Ronaldinho, Pochettino, Drogba,” Zoko, a former Nancy striker, said. “And after in Turkey against some good players at the Ali Sami Yen [Galatasaray’s then stadium] and some good players, and in Belgium too. But in England it is different and the FA Cup is a really special competition, where everything can happen.
“I will say to them to just enjoy the game, play the game. You have to respect your opponent but not too much – they are human like us. We are young, some of my team-mates are just 19, but we are good enough to beat Manchester United.”