Jose Mourinho has revealed Antonio Valencia, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick are out for the Christmas period.

United travel to Leicester tomorrow without the trio as they try to ensure the gap does not widen between themselves and leaders Manchester City.

Mourinho's side trail City by 11 points and could find themselves 14 points adrift of Pep Guardiola's side by the time they kick off at Leicester tomorrow night.

The United boss said: "Valencia is out, as you know. Eric Bailly is having surgery right now, or is just finishing or is still there, who else? Nobody else, everything is okay.

"Fellaini is not available. Michael Carrick, no. Not for the Christmas period."

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Mourinho will be looking for a response from his players following their midweek 2-1 League Cup defeat away to Championship side Bristol City.

The United boss accused some of his players of lacking focus, but said he will not make decisions on their futures based on that chastening defeat.

"I don't make decisions based on only one game or one feeling or one night, not at all," said Mourinho.

"First of all, you always like to speak about the loser, probably you should speak more about the winner, what I told after the match.

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Mercury Press and Media Ltd)
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"They were lucky but they fought a lot to try to be lucky and it's one of the beautiful things that can happen in football, when a team from a lower division kills the giant.

"Football has changed so much. The lower division is more professional and that could happen even more.

"I could be critical with my players but they did enough to win, they lost when they were the only team people believed could win.

"So we move on and we move on quickly because we have another match.

"The expectation is to go to every match and try to win, which is what we do and the matches we lost we fought until the last second, the matches we lost, if I'm not wrong, were 2-1, 2-1, and 1-0, so we really manage to fight in every match to try the best result and we can do nothing more than that."

Carrick will remain out (
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REUTERS)
Marouane Fellaini may have played his last game for United (
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AFP/Getty)
Antonio Valencia sustained an injury at the Hawthorns (
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Action Images via Reuters)

On United's opponents Leicester, Mourinho said: "I think they had phenomenal that season and they benefited from the normal title contenders not having a good season all at the same time.

" Expectations now are if the top teams perform, it's very difficult for them to have the same dream or to reach the same incredible title, but I think they are doing well, in a comfortable position, no dramas, no fears. Can they fight to reach a Europa League spot? Yes they can."

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