Mourinho Hopes Duo Will Be Fit To Face Liverpool

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has told MUTV he's hopeful of having both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo available for Sunday's match against Liverpool.

Ibrahimovic was on the bench for last Saturday's FA Cup win over Reading and was due to play against Hull City in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday, but illness forced him out of the latter game.

Rojo, meanwhile, hobbled out of the victory over Reading with a muscle problem but Mourinho told MUTV he is positive about both players' chances of being involved this weekend.

"I think they are available," he declared. "I cannot confirm with 48 hours to the match but I think so."

Old Trafford will have an electric atmosphere on Sunday afternoon for what is often seen as the biggest game of the season by the supporters. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Mourinho said the fans' backing is more important than ever in fixtures of this magnitude.

“What I want from them, I have, since day one," declared the manager during his media briefing.

"What I want is for them to be with the team especially because they give us [support] in the difficult moments; to have bad results and to have the fans with me, with the team, and to feel that they are with us, it’s the best feeling and the most important feeling," he added.

"Now, it’s just a question of trying to have a little bit extra in a match that, for them, means a little bit more. It’s for them that the match means something more, so they have to make us feel that feeling. We felt that at Anfield, we felt clearly that for the Liverpool fans the match was more than a match.

"Now, we play at home, so it’s a huge percentage of our fans compared with Liverpool fans, so they can give us that little bit extra to make the game a bit more special for us."