Hull City vs. Manchester United: Jose Mourinho's Key EFL Cup Presser Quotes

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho believes the potential rescheduling of February's Manchester derby will lead to an "unbelievably difficult" Premier League match against their local rivals.

If the Red Devils beat Hull City at the KCOM Stadium on Thursday to reach the EFL Cup final, the February 26 clash with the Citizens at the Etihad Stadium will be moved to a later date. 

Per Metro's Chris Winterburn, he said:

According to the Mirror's Hamish Mackay, the Special One reflected on the competition and how United are still competing on four fronts, as they remain in the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League also:

"

It's nice to win a competition but I don't think it's crucial to do well after that.

We go competition by competition and match after match. It's going to be really difficult.

I have a board with all the matches and possible matches on my office wall and when I look at it the image is quite complicated.

"

Should United progress in those competitions, rescheduling the City match could see the game played near the end of the season.

As ESPN's Alex Shaw demonstrated, it could leave them with an extremely difficult run-in:

Per Winterburn, Mourinho couldn't resist adding a dig at some of United's rivals:

The Portuguese could have been discussing former club and league leaders Chelsea or rivals Liverpool, as neither has European football to contend with this year.

Mourinho also looked ahead to the clash with the Tigers, whom United lead 2-0 on aggregate from the first leg. He gave the latest team news for the match, per Mackay:

"

No injuries, everyone is available. Marcos Rojo is back, Bailly is returning from the [Africa Cup of Nations] but he isn't ready for tomorrow.

Bailly didn't arrive yet but his national team had a defeat yesterday and are knocked out of the competition, so he is coming back. In this moment everybody is available and my choices will be to try to go with a team that I think can guarantee us a good match.

"

The Red Devils boss will be wary of Hull, who will be led by new manager and compatriot Marco Silva:

The Tigers have won two of their four matches in all competitions since he took charge, losing 2-0 to United and Chelsea in their other two.

United last played them at the KCOM Stadium in August, when they needed a last-gasp Marcus Rashford winner to take the match 1-0 against a resilient Hull side.

As they trail by two goals, Hull will be forced to come and attack United on Thursday, which will leave them vulnerable on the break.

The Red Devils need only one goal to all but secure the match on away goals, as it would require Hull to score four—they should have little trouble progressing to the Wembley Stadium showpiece.