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Bastian Schweinsteiger is in contention to return to the Manchester United squad against Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve.

Schweinsteiger arrived with teammates at The Lowry Hotel ahead of their last match of the calendar year and could make just his second appearance of the season at Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho, who still resides at the Manchester city centre hotel, returned before his United players and staff members were greeted by waiting supporters.

Marouane Fellaini, booed again by some United supporters during the Boxing Day victory over Sunderland, arrived hours before his teammates.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan still stays at The Lowry and Daley Blind lives nearby, so they tend to rendezvous with their teammates who disembark the team coach. M.E.N. photographers did not see Matteo Darmian, Michael Carrick or Ashley Young.

Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis appear to have been overlooked for the sixth match running, so injury is not risked to them ahead of their likely January transfers.

United have won their last five games in all competitions and the win against Sunderland on Boxing Day marked the first time they had recorded four consecutive league victories since March 2015.

(Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Overall, United are unbeaten in 11 and Mourinho's side have not lost a league game since the 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea on October 23.

The Portuguese had a 26-man squad to choose from for Boro's first visit to M16 in eight years, with only Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw unavailable.

"Luke is training now with the team without any problem, but I don't think he is ready to start the game," Mourinho told MUTV.

"The momentum of playing well comes from long time ago. It's difficult for me to remember the last match where we didn't play well.

(Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

"We played well for many matches, even without getting the results that should be end-to-end with good performances.

"But the reality is that in the last four Premier League matches and five competitive matches we’ve managed to win and in this moment we need points, so let’s try for three more at home at Old Trafford for our fans.

"It's a good day to play football, the last day of the year, so let’s try."

Third-choice United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has been involved with preparations for matches throughout the campaign but is still yet to make his United debut and will leave on loan next month, with Championship club Aston Villa interested.

(Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

"Sam Johnstone is the only player that I allow to go on loan because he doesn't play one single minute. He needs to play," Mourinho said.

"We have a young goalkeeper in Joel [Pereira], a goalkeeper who played many minutes in the last six months. For the development of both, Joel played six months in the Portuguese Premier League and now it's time for Sam to play six months and that's the only loan move that we're going to do."

(Image: Eamonn and James Clarke)

Pereira, 20, spent the first half of the campaign at Belenenses after a spell at League One Rochdale last season.

On Boro manager and his former Real Madrid assistant coach, Aitor Karanka, Mourinho added: "He’s my friend, he’s a real friend. I always want him to win, he always wants me to win and this is the first time and the unique time where I want to win, he wants to win and that's football.

"Sometimes brothers against brothers probably happens – father against son, a father a manager and a son a player, and that has to be even more difficult. So for 90 minutes he wants to win, I want to win, and that’s it."

Confirmed United squad members photographed at The Lowry:

De Gea

Romero

Johnstone

Valencia

Smalling

Jones

Bailly

Rojo

Herrera

Pogba

Schweinsteiger

Fellaini

Lingard

Mata

Martial

Rashford

Ibrahimovic