Manchester United are beginning to wobble again and Jose Mourinho desperately needs to start winning games at Old Trafford, if the Red Devils are to break into the top-four in the Premier League at the start of the season.

Supporters here in the Tavern have grown concerned with results again recently, and it’s a pattern that has really hampered Jose’s progress at the helm through large parts of this campaign.

He’s overseen some comprehensive and solid victories but on far too many occasions the Red Devils haven’t been clinical enough and team’s who, five years ago, wouldn’t have hoped of getting anything at Old Trafford, are now leaving with points.

Even our pub landlord has grown concerned with matters recently and he’s been following the club since the early days of the Fergie era, which produced some very anxious times indeed!

But looking ahead to this weekend, the Red Devils travel to the North East to face under-pressure Sunderland, in what is a real must-win game for Mourinho.

So with that in mind, here’s the starting XI we think Jose should pick that has the potential to demolish the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light…

GK: David de Gea

No surprises here.

Only Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois has kept more clean sheets than De Gea in the Premier League this season, and the Spaniard looks a sure-fire bet to keep the likes of Romero away from the first-team for the rest of the campaign.

RB: Antonio Valencia

Arguably one of Antonio Valencia’s best seasons to date at the Theatre of Dreams, he’s held down the right-back berth with real ease and looks as fit as ever, bombing forward to help his forwards out when needs be.

Fans here in the Tavern have been impressed too and they’re tipping him to start the game against Sunderland this weekend.

CB: Eric Bailly

Ivorian international Eric Bailly has really stepped up since joining the club and moving forward, he looks like he’ll be at Old Trafford for a very long time indeed.

Barring the crocked Chris Smalling, Bailly is probably the next-best centre-back on the books right now and like Valencia and De Gea, he’s definitely going to be starting the game against struggling Sunderland.

CB: Marcos Rojo

Marcos Rojo has been drafted back into the United first-team and despite not being a favourite of our landlord’s, he did a decent job against the Baggies and doesn’t deserve to lose his place in the first-team in the slightest.

Granted, he’s not the best defender in the Premier League but shouldn’t be hassled too much by struggling Sunderland, who look destined for the drop.

LB: Ashley Young

Ashley Young has come back into the United first-team in recent weeks and following Mourinho’s outpouring of criticism regarding Luke Shaw, it looks like the former Villa man could be there for a while too.

He’s a pacy option who has a good delivery too and against Sunderland, expect to see him bombing forward to try and cause the Black Cats’ shaky defence all sorts of difficulties.

CDM: Marouane Fellaini

Belgian international Marouane Fellaini was the best of a bad bunch during the dyer 0-0 draw with West Brom last weekend, but compared to the performances we’ve seen from Michael Carrick in recent weeks, Fellaini looks Toni Kroos-esque right now.

You know what you’re going to get from Fellaini and he’ll be looking to break things up in the middle-of-the-park for the Black Cats.

CDM: Wayne Rooney

As aforementioned, we haven’t been fantastic advocates of Michael Carrick in recent weeks and with the former Spurs man showing some seriously poor form indeed, we’d like to see Wayne Rooney return to the first-team for this one.

He’s been out of the side for a while now and looks destined to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season but United fans here in the Tavern are appreciative of his services over the years, and he deserves a little more spotlight as the season comes to an end.

RM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been quiet over the past few weeks and he’ll be looking to find some good form again, as United chase that oh-so-important Champions League place.

He’s an individual that took quite a bit of time to get going at Old Trafford but when he’s really firing, he looks the part.

This would be a good game for the Armenian to really show the United fans here in the pub what he’s made of.

CAM/CF: Anthony Martial

French forward Anthony Martial is having a shadow of a season compared to what we saw from him last time out, and he’s a player whose inconsistent form might cost him his future at Old Trafford if Mourinho is feeling ruthless at the end of the campaign.

But we’d like to see him start this one in behind Zlatan Ibrahmimovic, causing problems for a Sunderland defence that has already conceded far too many goals this season.

LM: Jesse Lingard

Jesse Lingard will be looking to get back amongst the goals at United as the season draws to a close and his form could prove decisive in any Champions league push in the coming weeks.

He’s a rather underrated face in this side and he’s well liked by both the landlord and the supporters here in the pub, who think he has a lot to give this side.

ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been the vocal point of all the good things United have done this season and it’s clear he’ll have a big role to play in games like these too.

He preys on defensively-weak outfits and has made a hearty career from doing just that.

Sunderland beware, Zlatan will be seriously looking forward to this one.