• Manager urges players to show passion in Midtjylland second leg • ‘Desire is a great word. I often use the word horny with my players’

Louis van Gaal has demanded more passion from his Manchester United players in the return leg of their Europa League last-32 tie against Midtjylland, saying: “I often use the word horny with my players.”

United face Midtjylland having been humiliated in the first leg of the tie – the 2-1 defeat piling more pressure on Van Gaal, whose job continues to be linked with José Mourinho.

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Speaking in the buildup to Thursday night’s game, Van Gaal said: “There’s a lot of criticism, so it can influence players but they have to ignore it.

“I think Midtjylland has a very good organisation, very detailed … they play with diagonal pressing. I do that also with my team. Not many teams are doing that. And when I see the data of Midtjylland they have always won against English opponents.

“We have to keep the ball better and we have to move the ball quicker – that’s always what we have to do. Desire … it is a great word. I often use the word ‘horny’ with my players.”

David de Gea will miss the tie because of the knee injury he sustained in the warm-up before the first leg in Denmark, while Chris Smalling will be assessed after colliding with an advertising hoarding in the FA Cup win at Shrewsbury.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Will Keane are other doubts after sustaining knocks in Monday’s FA Cup tie. Donald Love comes back into contention and the returning Marcos Rojo could play 20 minutes, but Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini and Matteo Darmian are out, as are Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Bastian Schweinsteiger.