Sunderland vs. Manchester United: Jose Mourinho's Key Pre-Match Presser Quotes

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho revealed on Friday that both Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young will be unavailable for the Red Devils' Premier League trip to Sunderland on Sunday, adding to an already lengthy injury list.

The Portuguese boss told reporters that Young and captain Rooney have joined Juan Mata, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones on the sidelines ahead of the game against the league's bottom team.

United have been frustrated in their last two fixtures as they have been held to draws at Old Trafford against West Bromwich Albion and Everton.

Even with a depleted squad, the Red Devils should have more than enough quality to win at the Stadium of Light, as bottom-of-the-table Sunderland have lost five of their last six matches and not scored since early February.

Adnan Januzaj has been on loan at Sunderland from United during the 2016-17 season. Mourinho revealed on Friday that he has made his decision about the Belgium international's future, but he would not divulge the outcome, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone:

The sixth-placed Red Devils cannot afford to drop more points against Sunderland if they are still to have designs on finishing in the top four.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late equaliser against Everton ensured United extended their current unbeaten run in the Premier League to 20 games, but with 10 of those being draws, the Manchester outfit have not managed to make any real progress up the table in that time.

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Mourinho, however, said the fact that United have been so hard to beat in 2016-17 gives him confidence for next season, per the Manchester Evening News' Alex Porter.

"Looking to the next season it’s a good feeling to know that we don’t lose many matches and had a fantastic run of 20 unbeaten matches," the Portuguese said. "I prefer to look at 10 matches, 10 draws. You have something that is not easy to have. You are solid mentally, hard to beat and show fight and resilience. But the points are the reality."

Following their clash with Sunderland, United face the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash with Anderlecht.

Winning Europe's second-tier competition looks far the easier route for United to get into next season's UEFA Champions League than finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

But Mourinho is unlikely to lose domestic focus and will be eager to see his side emphatically return to winning ways against struggling Sunderland.    

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