Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is sweating on the fitness of several first-team players ahead of the Red Devils trip to Liverpool this weekend.

United have started off the season in sparkling form and currently sit second place in the league, level with rivals Manchester City on 19 points after just seven games. Their unbeaten start to the campaign has no doubt been aided by the strength and depth that Mourinho is able to call upon when needed, however, the former Chelsea manager may need to use all of his resources ahead of this weekend's match.

Seven players unavailable

United's toughest tests so far have come away from home as they drew with Stoke and then narrowly beat Southampton, but their meeting with Liverpool at Anfield is the first time they will test themselves against one of the self-proclaimed Premier League 'Top Six'. However, Mourinho may well be making the trip to Merseyside with a patched-up side as reports have emerged that United may be travelling with up to seven players unavailable.

Injury Woes

The international break has not been kind to Mourinho, prior to the two-week fixture break 'The Special One' knew that he would be without long-term absentees Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo, all of whom are not expected to feature again for United until the New Year.

With Pogba's injury, it opened the door for the likes of Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini to step into contention for a regular place in the heart of the midfield, but Carrick suffered a setback injuring himself before the CSKA Moscow tie. Fellaini has become a key player for Mourinho and has rewarded his manager's faith in him with a brace against Crystal Palace in their 4-0 win over the bottom club.

The Belgian was struggling with an achilles injury but joined up with his national side before suffering a ligament injury in his knee meaning he will miss the foreseeable future.

Phil Jones who has enjoyed a superb start to the season cementing his place alongside Eric Bailly at the heart of the defence also picked up a knock during the Palace match and is set to miss the trip to Liverpool opening the door for the likes of Victor Lindelof who has struggled since his arrival from Benfica and Chris Smalling.

The main cause for concern is £90m striker Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian has adapted to life at Old Trafford quickly scoring an impressive 11 goals in his first 10 appearances, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton's long-standing record. However, the former Everton striker sat out his nations win over Bosnia on Saturday and despite being declared 100% fit by boss Roberto Martinez, United fans will surely not want to see him risked against Cyprus on Tuesday with such a huge match on the horizon.