Manchester United vs Stoke City - Jose Mourinho expecting surprises

Posted Saturday, October 01, 2016 by PA

Jose Mourinho is expecting a "surprise behind the door" as the Manchester United manager utilises his squad during a testing run of October fixtures.

Life since succeeding Louis van Gaal has already had its peaks and troughs, with Community Shield glory and three successive wins followed by a run of three straight losses in all competitions.

United have responded impressively to that dip and racked up a third consecutive win on Thursday against Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League.

Mourinho made fewer changes than previous midweek matches due to the importance of getting a victory ahead of Fenerbahce's arrival next month, with that match wedged in-between trips to Liverpool and Chelsea.

A clash against Manchester City in the EFL Cup and Burnley in the league end a month that starts with Stoke's visit on Sunday, with that frantic period set to teach Mourinho a lot about his players.

"Every game I know more about my players, especially the ones that are on the pitch," Mourinho said after his 10th match at the Old Trafford helm.

"Obviously I would like to have other players playing more so I can see more, I can learn more about them.

"(On Thursday) I had in my mind to give Memphis (Depay) 20, 25 minutes. I couldn't with the way I had to make the changes.

"Then with a problem with (Timothy) Fosu-Mensah, I had to play a right-back but we need the squad. That's for sure.

"The Europa League is a competition that disturbs more the domestic competitions because you play Thursdays and it's really difficult."

Depay has made just one start under Mourinho, as has Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian and - due to injury as much as anything - Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Michael Carrick, Fosu-Mensah and Morgan Schneiderlin are others to have seen playing time restricted, but Mourinho is fully expecting one or more of those on the periphery to become key figures.

"You know, I need time," he said. "I need the players to play, I need to see them in different circumstances. I need to understand more about them.

"There is so much to learn about the players that only when you work with them a long, long time you really know them well.

"There's always a surprise behind the door when you work with a team for three or four or five months. There's always a surprise."

An opportunity for squad players to shine is unlikely to arrive when they face Stoke on Sunday lunchtime.

United enter the weekend six points off leaders Manchester City and looking to build on the 4-1 shellacking of Premier League champions Leicester.

"You know every game is massive," Mourinho said ahead of a tough-looking October. "You know, Watford was massive.

"We lost three points against Watford - not different from the three points we lost against Man City.

"So every game for me is important but, you are right, we have some big opponents in October but that's also a motivation."

Meanwhile, Mark Hughes has targeted an end to Stoke's Old Trafford hoodoo as they bid for a first Premier League victory of the season.

It is 40 years since the Potters last beat Manchester United away from home and they have not even managed a point on 13 consecutive visits.

Stoke's miserable start to the season has yielded only two points from six Premier League games but Hughes insists the signs are positive.

The Potters lost in stoppage time to Hull in the EFL Cup and then conceded another late goal, this time an equaliser, against West Brom last weekend when they looked poised to clinch a first win.

Hughes said: "We think it's only a matter of time before it comes because we're not playing badly. The last two games I've seen a confident team, a team that wants to address the situation and get the maximum points.

"It's not as if our confidence has been affected, we're fine in that regard, but clearly we want to get three points on the board as quickly as possible.

"It's going to be difficult this weekend because clearly our record at Manchester United isn't great. It's a big ask but, if we're going to get a first win on the board, why can't it be at Old Trafford?

"We know we're not too far away from getting back to the level we're capable of so there's no concern here.

"The last two games against Hull and West Brom, we didn't win because we made mistakes but the performances levels were good and I think that was shaped by the fact we weren't chasing the games.

"When you're on level terms or in winning positions, then you can shape the game and dictate to the opposition."

Joe Allen is a doubt with tightness in his hamstrings but Jon Walters (ankle) could return. Goalkeeper Jack Butland is set for at least another month on the sidelines following surgery.