Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moaned that his midfield problems are being made worse by the hectic festive period schedule.
His Red Devils were completely dominated at Arsenal in a 2-0 Premier League defeat on New Year’s Day and they will have to bounce back before they tackle Wolves at Molineux in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night (7.30pm).
United had gone unbeaten in December and picked up big wins over Tottenham and Manchester City.
Solskjaer says: “When you get one win you want two, three – want to build. We had very good December – had nine games. It was a hard period. We didn’t have enough [against Arsenal].”
He adds of his midfield injury problems: “It’s a big blow that Paul Pogba is out now – he’ll probably be out for three or four weeks [due to a foot injury] – and Scott [McTominay] will be out for a few months.
OUT: Paul Pogba will have surgery on his ankle. Picture: Phil Noble/Reuters.
“Scott has been magnificent and we hoped Paul could come back [while Scott was out]. He can’t – he’ll be back within a month or so.
“There is always want competition for places at a place like this and we've been suffering especially in midfield.
“They will go again Saturday, Tuesday and Saturday – relentless period.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/MarcusRashford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarcusRashfordwas on the rampage in December ☄️☄️☄️ #MUFC pic.twitter.com/sByXWf6NLN
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
In the other big fixture this weekend, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp could give new signing Takumi Minamino his debut against local rivals
Everton on Sunday (6pm).
FA Cup third-round fixtures for Premier League teams
Saturday
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Burnley v Peterborough (2.30pm)
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Rochdale v Newcastle (2.30pm)
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Watford v Tranmere (5pm)
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Fulham v Aston Villa (5pm)
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Southampton v Huddersfield (5pm)
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B’mouth v Luton Town (7.30pm)
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Wolves v Man United (7.30pm)
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Leicester v Wigan (7.30pm)
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Man City v Port Vale (7.30pm)
Sunday
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Middlesbrough v Tottenham (4pm)
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Crystal Palace v Derby County (4pm)
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Sheffield United v Fylde (4pm)
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Chelsea v Nottingham Forest (4pm)
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Liverpool v Everton (6pm)
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Gillingham v West Ham (8.15pm)