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As it happenedended

Jose Mourinho press conference LIVE: Manchester United manager previews Liverpool clash

Follow live updates from Mourinho’s press conference at Carrington

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Friday 14 December 2018 04:06 EST
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Manchester United: A look back at 2018

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Jose Mourinho will hold a press conference on Friday morning ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League meeting with leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

United climbed to sixth in the table last weekend with a comfortable 3-1 win over struggling Fulham but a poor performance followed in the 2-1 midweek Champions League defeat to Valencia. Mourinho can take heart from his excellent record against Liverpool and at Anfield. The Portuguese has won 50 per cent of his away Premier League matches there, the best of any manager to have taken charge of at least five such fixtures.

Liverpool went top of the table last weekend courtesy of a 4-0 win at Bournemouth and Manchester City's defeat at Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp will hope to maintain their one-point lead at the summit this weekend, but may have to pick up the club's first league win over United in nine matches in order to do so. Liverpool have not gone longer without a win against their greatest rivals since April 1988. Follow live updates from Mourinho’s press conference below.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.

Jose Mourinho will hold a press conference on Friday morning ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League meeting with leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

United climbed to sixth in the table last weekend with a comfortable 3-1 win over struggling Fulham but a poor performance followed in the 2-1 midweek Champions League defeat to Valencia.

Mourinho can at least take heart from his excellent record against Liverpool and at Anfield. The Portuguese has won 50 per cent of his away Premier League matches there, the best of any manager to have taken charge of at least five such fixtures.

We'll have live updates from Carrington at 10.30am...

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 08:32

Mourinho has arrived!

Off we go...

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:29

Injury update:

The latest is to tell you again that in Valencia only David De Gea and Nemanja Matic were available to play and didn't travel by decision, apart from that the players that didn't travel were not fit to play in Valencia, all of them had injuries and they were not ready. All of them didn't train yesterday again and today they will be a little, I don't want to say test, but a little introduction to training to see the answer, adaptation and to see if we can increase a little bit tomorrow to have them for Sunday. But for sure, I hope, is better not to say for sure, I hope some will be available but for sure some will not be.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:30

On how they can beat Liverpool:

I'm going to try, I'm going to try, I always try and I want to play a team that is capable to be with me on that desire and on that ambition and on that confidence, we know that we are going to play against the leader, against a team in a high, but we have our qualities, we have our potential and even with the problems we have and the doubts in terms of team choice, of tactics, approach, philosophy, we have doubts about everything but we are going to arrive with the players we have available and going to have a team capable of going there and fight for the victory.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:33

On Liverpool being trophy-less under Jurgen Klopp:

I don't know, depends on the way you approach it, I think trophies matter, it matters, especially when you have the potential to fight for trophies and especially when you clearly say the objective is to win the trophy, I think sometimes to just say is not very intelligent, but when you have the potential, you have nothing to hide, you know from day one your potential and your desire has a relation with the potential because to say we want to win everyone can say that but another is to say the potential in a way you have but I think Jurgen told already they want to win the Premier League, is their objective.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:36

On Liverpool's spending in the summer:

Is not just about the money they spend in the summer, is about many things.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:39

Do United need to spend similar money?

It's not just about spending money and reinforcing the squad, a football team is more than that, is not just about spending the money. Is like a house, too is not just about buying the furniture, you have to do work, you spend money on the best possible furniture and then you're ready to live in an amazing house.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:42

On his good record against Liverpool:

I don't know what to say to you, I don’t want to analyse that, we got two positive results in Liverpool last season, we beat them at home, we didn't lose any match against them in four I think but that was the past, so Sunday has nothing to do with what happened in the past so I have to focus not on what happened, not on the credit we were given or no. I have to focus on the next match, the next match is the one that is important and that's it.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:45

And that's it. The United manager disappears as quickly as he arrived.

Mark Critchley14 December 2018 10:51

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