Jose Mourinho focused on Manchester United's EFL Cup run with one eye on Wembley
Jose Mourinho insists Manchester United will not be distracted by this weekend's clash with Liverpool and their top-four quest as he bids to maintain his impressive EFL Cup record by reaching Wembley.
United entertain Hull in the first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday and Mourinho has vowed to recall the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba for a competition which he has always placed importance on.
It was the first trophy he won in England as Chelsea boss back in 2005 and, with subsequent triumphs in 2007 and 2015 in his two spells with the Blues, Mourinho has remarkably never lost a game inside 90 minutes in the competition - exiting on penalties to Charlton in the 2005-06 season, in extra-time to Sunderland in December 2013 and again on penalties, this time to Stoke, last season.
He will take charge of his 28th EFL Cup match at Old Trafford and so - while returning United to the Champions League remains a priority ahead of Sunday's clash with Jurgen Klopp's Reds - the chance for more silverware is one Mourinho is keen to strive for.
"We play against Liverpool (on Sunday), it's a big match for us but we want to be in the final," he said.
"So we are going to face this Hull match with everything we have, with all the power we have. We know that it's two legs but the second leg is away, so if you can do something in the first leg that gives you an advantage, we are going to try and do that.
"I think for big clubs a competition is a competition. I was never good at choosing competitions. At some of my clubs you arrive at April and you have a busy fixture list but you are in competitions to try to win, to try to do things."
Marcos Rojo is a doubt having come off against the Royals with a muscle problem, while fellow defender Eric Bailly is away on Ivory Coast duty at the African Nations Cup.
Hull's uphill battle has been made all the more difficult by the defensive crisis facing newly-appointed boss Marco Silva.
Less than a week after being announced as the surprising successor to Mike Phelan, the 39-year-old is preparing to take the Premier League's bottom side to a team on an eight-match winning streak.
As if facing Mourinho's side was not enough, Silva approaches Hull's first-ever semi-final appearance in the competition with an eye-watering list of defensive issues.
The Portuguese may have got his reign off to a winning start against Swansea, but Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie laid bare their squad deficiencies as Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore ended the 2-0 victory in central defence.
"We finished this game with our backline having a midfielder as a right-back, two midfielders like centre-backs," Silva said, who deployed David Meyler as a makeshift full-back.
"It is not normal at the level where we are.
"For all these things, for the situation we have in the table, it is very important to give confidence for the people, change the atmosphere here and I think it is important for us."
Michael Dawson was forced off against Swansea with a shoulder injury that needs assessing, while Harry Maguire is another doubt for a match that fellow centre-backs Curtis Davies and Alex Bruce will miss through injury.
Ahmed Elmohamady's departure for the African Nations Cup and Moses Odubajo's serious knee injury means Meyler may again be deployed at right-back, although on the other flank Josh Tymon and Andrew Robertson are both available.
Source: PAR
