Manchester United’s Juan Mata won’t take Ipswich lightly in Capital One Cup

Louis van Gaal insists that he “does not need” James Wilson and Jesse Lingard for Manchester United’s clash with Ipswich.

Too good for the reserves but not good enough for the first team?

Given how one-paced and meagre the first team’s options have looked going forward, at least prior to the introduction of Martial, there has been plenty of confusion and frustration over the reluctance to select Wilson in Van Gaal’s match day squads of late.

Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times McCarthy hinted that once again he may choose to rest some of his front-liners, like Ireland internationals Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick, for a trip to English club football’s biggest stadium.

Adnan Januzaj has been shipped out to Borussia Dortmund, while Pereira remains at Old Trafford and the fact that he did not feature in United’s U21 victory over Everton on Monday suggests he could get a prominent role on Wednesday. The league games are far more important to me.

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy hopes his side will draw inspiration from playing at Old Trafford in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night and not be frightened at the thought of taking on Manchester United.

The competition often sees fringe players like McNair, just 19 years old, come into the first team starting eleven but McNair won’t get a chance with a “minor injury”.

Mick McCarthy has already registered one upset against Van Gaal, although it did come 14 years ago and the pair were in charge of very different teams.

The Spaniard is now back between the sticks but Romero is likely to get more game-time against Ipswich and he will be looking to put his disappointing performance against Swansea City behind him.

However, he managed 21 appearances in Manchester United’s title-winning under-21 season in 2014/15 as he continues to show that he has quality in abundance. These sides last met in the 2001/02 league season, when United won 4-0 at home and 1-0 at Portman Road.

A clearly unimpressed Van Gaal revealed he now has a major defensive headache with Shaw out, Phil Jones not ready to start and Paddy McNair also injured at the weekend. McCarthy has won one and lost seven of his games against United at club level, as manager of Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers.