Jose Mourinho Says Manchester United's October Schedule Is a 'Poisoned Gift'

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has bemoaned the October scheduling that will see the Red Devils play Liverpool, Fenerbahce and Chelsea all within a week following the international break. 

After Sunday's game with Stoke City, United's next Premier League clash is at Liverpool on Monday, Oct. 17, a fixture Mourinho described as a "poisoned gift" as it is followed three days later by a home clash with Fenerbahce and then a trip to Chelsea on the Sunday, per MailOnline's Jack Gaughan:

"

We have to play seriously in the Europa League. We could play Liverpool on the Saturday or the Sunday. We play Liverpool on the Monday.

We don’t have the best conditions because we play against two top Premier League teams who don’t have European competition.

We have this poisoned gift with playing on the Monday which gives us a very difficult situation but we want to try to carry on in the competition.

I think it’s impossible, the poisoned gift is already there. We just have to play Monday, Thursday and then the Sunday.

"

United laboured to a 1-0 UEFA Europa League win over Zorya Luhansk on Thursday but, because they lost their opening group game to Feyenoord in Europe's second-tier competition, the home clash with Fener is now arguably a must-win match.

As a result, Mourinho will likely want to field a full-strength side against the Turkish outfit, but that may not be possible given the proximity of two hugely tricky games against Liverpool and Chelsea. 

It would be hard enough to face away matches at the two Premier League giants in the same week, but Mourinho now has a real headache on his hands with the Fenerbahce clash sandwiched in between.

A defeat to the Turkish side would make for a tough group-stage finish in United's attempt to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Meanwhile, if United drop significant points against Liverpool and Chelsea, they will likely slip further off the pace in the Premier League—the Red Devils already sit six points back from leaders Manchester City.

Competition	Date	Fixture
Premier League	Sunday, Oct. 2	Home vs. Stoke City
Premier League	Monday, Oct. 17	Away vs. Liverpool
UEFA Europa League	Thursday, Oct. 20	Home vs. Fenerbahce
Premier League	Sunday, Oct. 23	Away vs. Chelsea
League Cup	Wednesday, Oct. 26	Home vs. Manchester City
Premier League	Saturday, Oct. 29	Home vs. Burnley

To exacerbate the issue, United also play City at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup just three days after the Stamford Bridge clash against the Blues.

It is an unenviable October schedule—finished off with a home fixture against Burnley in the Premier League—and one from which United will do well to emerge unscathed.

After some major summer signings, United do have the squad to deal with the tough fixtures coming thick and fast, but Mourinho will be desperate to have a full group at his disposal.

Any injuries picked up on international duty will be a major blow for United, while Mourinho will hope to see current stars Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan recover for the October challenges.