Jose Mourinho jokes: I am the worst manager in the history of football
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho joked he is now the 'Worst One' rather than the 'Special One' as football's "Einsteins" criticise and scrutinise his side who are looking to avoid a third straight Premier League defeat.
Community Shield glory and three successive league wins, coupled with some big-name acquisitions, naturally raised expectations, making the three straight losses that followed all the more of a shock.
United ended that run with a timely, if at times unconvincing, 3-1 midweek triumph in the EFL Cup at Northampton, after which Mourinho hit out at the critics who he dubbed "football Einsteins".
The Portuguese took a similar approach ahead of Leicester's visit, making light of the situation by referring to himself as "the worst manager in the history of football" when asked how hard it would be for Saturday's opponents to retain the title.
"Not many teams during the Premier League history they could do that," Mourinho, who retained the title in 2006 with Chelsea, said.
"One of the teams was, of course, Man United, another one was some team managed (by) the worst manager in the history of football, but it's really difficult."
Anthony Martial will miss the Premier League clash with champions Leicester.
The forward was forced off in last weekend's defeat at Watford and, despite returning to training on Friday, will be absent with an ankle/calf problem.
Luke Shaw (groin) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (thigh) are back in contention for the squad, but Phil Jones (knee) remains absent.
Meanwhile, Marcin Wasilewski is suspended for the trip to Manchester United after his red card in their EFL Cup defeat to Chelsea.
The defender was dismissed in the 89th minute and will sit out at Old Trafford, with Claudio Ranieri expected to hand several first-team regulars a recall.
He made seven changes in the 4-2 extra time defeat, with Jamie Vardy, Robert Huth, Christian Fuchs, Daniel Amartey and Riyad Mahrez all set to return.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has recovered from concussion, but has suffered a minor muscle strain in training so is a doubt, while Matty James and Nampalys Mendy (both ankle) are still unavailable.
Claudio Ranieri insists he would never swap his forward line for Manchester United's star-studded combination.
"I love my players and I don't change them for other players. I'm very pleased with them and we think we can do a very good season this season," he said.
"Rooney is an amazing player. He's a champion. I don't know (whether Rooney would be in his team), I love my players, and I don't change my players with anybody else.
"The three have different attributes, they are different players. The football is different, they play one shape, we play another shape."
Source: PAR
