Five issue Mourinho have to consider before picking his team against Manchester city

Even in early September, the stakes are high. It is Mourinho’s first derby as Manchester United manager, his first meeting with Pep Guardiola in England and a clash between two of the Premier League’s top three.

Injury concerns

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has got a thigh injury while Luke Shaw withdrew from the England squad because

he ‘wasn’t feeling right’ - although the FA insist he is fit. Shaw, if he is available, will start and it is to Mourinho’s advantage that he did not play against Slovakia. Mkhitaryan was pushing to start against City after his impact off the bench against Hull but he will have to prove his fitness first.

Valencia’s jet-lag

Valencia is not expected back at Carrington until Friday, 24 hours before the derby. He has started the season well, in particular in getting forward to create chances for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. If Mourinho decides he is not ready he has got other options in Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones or Timothy Fosu-Mensah. The only problem is none of the three has played a single minute so far this season.

Rashford on the right

Rashford may be able to do some damage on the right. Guardiola likes his full-backs to push into midfield when City have the ball, with Fernandinho dropping between the centre-backs to cover. If United can break quickly, there should be a chance for fast, direct wide players to get around the outside of City’s defence. And Anthony Martial on the left and Rashford on the right would give Mourinho more pace in his front four.

Eric Bailly

Bailly has shown already in his short United career that he is quick and strong – two ideal qualities for a centre-back. But a derby also needs a cool head. Bailly is still very inexperienced and, at times, has a tendency to dive in. He will almost certainly start at Old Trafford and it is a chance for the 22-year-old to show a more mature side to his game.

Carrick’s calmness

Despite Mourinho’s concerns, it is likely Marouane Fellaini will recover from a back injury to be available to play City. But the United manager could decide to go a different way. Guardiola’s team try to win the ball back quickly with relentless pressing and Michael Carrick has the technical ability to thrive under that amount of pressure.