Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes playing against players such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in training helps him to prepare better for games than most centre-backs.

Smalling has missed the start of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign as Manchester United manager due to an injury and only returned to the side against Fulham last weekend.




The centre-back has dropped down the pecking order behind Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly at Old Trafford, but has continued to remain an important part of the Manchester United squad.

Smalling admits that he feels better prepared for games because he regularly plays against the quality of Rashford, Martial and Romelu Lukaku in training.
 


He believes the quality he has to face every day on the training pitch helps him to prepare in the best way possible for games against opposition forwards.

The Manchester United centre-back told the Times: “I feel I’m more prepared than most defenders going into a game because of the quality we’ve got that I see in training.
 

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“Sometimes, if we’re lucky enough to cruise through the odd game, I think I’d get more out of a training session, being up against Rashford, Martial and Rom.

“It’s a constant battle against them.”

It remains to be seen whether Smalling manages to get into the starting eleven when Manchester United take on Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.