Jose Mourinho steers clear of Arsene Wenger's misconduct charge as Manchester United boss prepares for EFL Cup semi-final second leg at Hull

• e-mail

Jose Mourinho may have sidestepped the issue on Wednesday, but it is understood that he is watching the outcome of Arsene Wenger's misconduct charge with considerable interest.

Wenger has until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge after he was sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss in Arsenal's win over Burnley on Sunday, then pushed fourth official Anthony Taylor in the tunnel.

Publicly, Mourinho did not want to be drawn on the incident, saying only: 'I never pushed the referee so I don't have a comparison. I have no idea.'

Jose Mourinho sidestepped the issue when asked about Arsene Wenger on Wednesday

Wenger was sent to the stands on Sunday afternoon and could face a lengthy touchline ban

Privately, however, it is believed that the Manchester United manager will indeed draw comparisons between any punishment meted out to Wenger and his own brushes with match officials in the past.

Mourinho served a one-match stadium ban as Chelsea boss after going into the referee's room to confront Moss at West Ham in October 2015. His No 2 Rui Faria was hit with a six-match stadium ban for verbally abusing officials in April 2014.

On neither occasion was there physical contact involved. Wenger also shoved Mourinho during a touchline altercation in October 2014, after which the then Chelsea manager said pointedly: 'If it was me, it would have been a stadium ban.'

Mourinho's reluctance to get involved was understandable considering he has more than enough to occupy his time at the moment. On a board in his office at Carrington, he is plotting United's potential fixture list if they continue to play in four competitions this season. It is becoming quite a complicated business.

Mourinho, sporting a new haircut, could take charge of 66 United matches in this campaign

Previously, Wenger and Mourinho have themselves been involved in a touchline spat

United could end up playing 66 games — not including replays — if they reach the finals of both domestic cups and the Europa League on top of Premier League commitments — three more than when Sir Alex Ferguson's side won the Treble in 1999.

United take a two-goal advantage into the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final at Hull on Thursday, and will have to re-arrange the Manchester derby if they progress to the final on February 26.

Mourinho said: 'If we beat Hull and we play the final, then we don't play against Manchester City. The match against City, I'm sure they will choose an amazing moment, difficult for us, to make us play against them. Then we have the Europa League which is a non-stop competition.

Mourinho was successful at Chelsea and will be keen to win trophies at Old Trafford this term

Wenger seemed to push the fourth official after being sent off at the Emirates on Sunday

'In the Champions League, last 16. In the Europa League, you have to play last 32 and last 16. We know there are teams with a wonderful life — a wonderful life we don't want. They play on the weekend, they have two days off, everybody rests, everybody comes fresh, then they have three, four, five days to prepare the next match. That is a big difference, to be honest.'

Mourinho plans on playing a strong team at Hull despite United's two-goal lead, but it remains to be seen if Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw are given opportunities.

Martial was dropped from the 18-man squad at Stoke and allowed to go home to Paris for the weekend. Mourinho was unhappy with his performance against Liverpool, and warned the young Frenchman that he has to take his chances.

Anthony Martial was dropped from the 18-man squad at Stoke and went home to Paris

Mourinho said: 'I don't think he lost his focus. He just didn't catch a big opportunity with both hands. Anthony played against Liverpool, a big match for us and for him, too, and then the next game I went to (Juan) Mata and (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan.

'We have five players still for these positions. I cannot give chances to play to one player and kill the others.'

Shaw is another player who must show improvement, having not played since returning to training at the start of the month following a groin injury in November. 'He is ready to play now,' said the United manager. 'But it's a position where we have other options. It's one of the positions where they have to fight, they have to compete, they have to show quality and stability in their performances.'

Luke Shaw is another player who must show improvement, having not played since his injury

Hull manager Marco Silva goes into the semi-final with midfield options seriously compromised. The club have accepted bids of around £10million for Robert Snodgrass from Burnley and Middlesbrough. And following the departure of Jake Livermore to West Brom, plus Ryan Mason's fractured skull, Silva is seriously short in midfield.

'We need players in those positions,' said the Portuguese. 'But we will be giving our best. This is a big chance for us. It is not easy because United have the first result.

'I want the players to enjoy the pressure of this type of game. We may rotate some players but we go into this game believing it is possible to play in the final.' 

Silva may give a debut to winger Lazar Markovic, who signed on loan from Liverpool this week.

Marco Silva is looking to guide Hull City to the EFL Cup final, but has a tough task on his hands