Man United give 1st Premier League start to Mkhitaryan in City derby

PanARMENIAN.Net - Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has left the in-form Marcus Rashford on the bench for the Manchester derby, but handed Henrikh Mkhitaryan a first Premier League start, the Mirror said.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan recovered in time from his injury sustained in action for Armenia to earn a place on the bench, and will make a first Premier League start.

The summer signing was injured on international duty in their 3-0 loss to Czech Republic and returned to England early in a bid to regain fitness.

He had earlier this week told Manchester United fans that he was still "not sure" if he would be fit for the derby despite his best efforts, but Mourinho confirmed on Friday that he was in contention and on Saturday gave him the nod.

"He is available.

"I'm not saying he's ready to play 90 minutes but he’s ready to try to help us."

The Armenian FA had previously said Mkhitaryan would need between "a week and 10 days" to recover but the midfielder refused to give up hope of performing in his first big league match against United's local rivals.

Mkhitaryan starts alongside Paul Pogba, Lingard, Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini in midfield.

Eric Bailly starts his first derby in central defense with Daley Blind his partner, Antonio Valencia at right-back and Luke Shaw on the opposite flank after being passed fit this week.