Manchester United v Hull City: Easy to predict my starting XI, says Marco Silva

The Portuguese duo go head-to-head tonight as the Tigers travel to Manchester United for the Yorkshire club’s first appearance in the League Cup semi-finals.

Silva, at 39, is 14 years the junior of the Red Devils’ manager and was first labelled ‘Jose Mourinho Mark II’ in his home country when carving out a decent coaching reputation with minnows Estoril.

Subsequent spells at Sporting Lisbon and Olympiacos – where he won the Portuguese Cup and Greek league title respectively in his one season at the helm of both clubs – have served to strengthen the comparisons.

Silva, for his part, is not keen on the tag and Mourinho agrees that his fellow countryman deserves to be judged on his own merits.

“I don’t think it is good for Marco to be compared with me,” said the 53-year-old ahead of tonight’s first leg at Old Trafford, “and I don’t think it is fair. But I can see a similar start of career because he was at a small club, Estoril, before he moved to Sporting.

“I was at a small club, Leiria, before I moved to Porto, so we had a similar start in Portugal.

“He did well and I see him as an intelligent guy with a good attitude. I really wish him well, but not a good start – he has to lose three matches.”

Mourinho and Silva have done battle before, when in charge of Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon respectively in the Champions League. The elder Portuguese triumphed in both 2015 group games and he is the overwhelming favourite to do so again tonight in the first of three meetings between Hull and the Red Devils inside 23 days.

Hull make the trip along the M62 with Silva hoping Harry Maguire can recover from injury to return to a back four that ended last weekend’s FA Cup tie containing three central midfielders.

Mourinho, meanwhile, expects to welcome back Zlatan Ibrahimovic and £89m summer signing Paul Pogba.

It is a vivid illustration of the contrasting resources at the disposal of the two managers, but Silva has a track record of upsetting the odds.

For instance, last season his Olympiacos side stunned Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium with a 3-2 victory. Earlier in his career, the Tigers chief also led minnows Estoril to a record high finish of fourth in the Portuguese top flight two years after winning promotion.

Asked how getting the better of Mourinho’s United over two legs would compare to last term’s stunning win over the Gunners, Silva said: “These games are different and it is easy to see why.

“When I went to the Emirates with Olympiacos, I’d had three or four months to work with my team. I had prepared my roster for the year and had pre-season with my team.

“Arsenal, of course, was a big favourite, but we’d had months of work (together as a group). It is completely different now. When I talk to you about our problems, they are completely different. You ask me if I have one centre-back to play, that shows it is completely different.”

Dawson is not expected to recover from the shoulder injury that forced him out of the Swansea City game, while Curtis Davies (hamstring) is definitely out.

That leaves only Maguire as a possible partner in central defence for Jake Livermore, with Tom Huddlestone standing by to slot into the back four once again if the former Sheffield United man is unavailable.

“If you try to predict the team Marco picks, it is not difficult for you to see what is our first XI,” added the Tigers chief.

This lack of options is why Hull need to strengthen their squad and quickly. Everton striker Oumar Niasse, signed a year ago for £13.5m from Lokomotiv Moscow, is understood to be close to agreeing a loan deal until the end of the season.

Robert Snodgrass, however, remains firmly on the radar of several clubs after Hull last week turned down a derisory £3m offer from West Ham United.

Sources in London suggest the Hammers will make a renewed attempt to sign the Scot, while Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka wants Snodgrass as a replacement for Stewart Downing, who is expected to leave the Riverside on loan in the next week.

Silva has made clear his desire to hold on to Hull’s top scorer, who will once again be crucial tonight if Silva is to have any hope of getting one over Mourinho.

On those comparisons with the ‘Special One’, the Tigers’ chief said: “I agree with Jose, it is never good when you compare different coaches.

“I am a different person, a different coach. What he did before – not only in Portugal but also here in England, Italy and Spain – is fantastic for him, and for the Portuguese coaches. But I need to do my work. I need to improve my team and get my team here playing like I want. That is all I want to do.”

Robertson relishes underdogs tag: Page 18.