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Cape Town - Jose Mourinho says he is looking forward to the Carabao Cup as Manchester United prepare to face Derby County in the third-round tie on Tuesday.
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The United manager will be coming up against a former player in Rams boss Frank Lampard, who earlier described the tie as 'interesting'
After drawing at home to Wolves in their last clash, this match represents a chance for the club to put in a big performance against the Championship side.
Speaking ahead of the game, Mourinho explained: "I like the cups. I like the feeling of the knockout: you win you are in the competition, you lose you are out. I like that pressure and honestly, I think fans also like it.
"In this moment you don't even have the possibility of, after a draw, playing 30 more minutes - you go straight to a penalty shootout which obviously is a 50/50 situation.
"I think it's good because no extra-time, no more extra minutes that we already have, especially the teams that are playing European competitions and especially when it goes to the end of the competitions - extra-time is really, really difficult."
On facing Lampard, Mourinho added: "They are playing well, they are in the fight for promotion and we all know that a fight in that competition will be for promotion, for play-offs and will last until the end."
A boost to United is the availability of midfielder Ander Herrera, who has been side-lined since the start of September with an ankle injury.
Mourinho told MUTV: "Ander is ready. Marcos Rojo is the only player that is not available through injury and it’s Marcus Rashford’s last suspension match."
Exciting 19-year-old right-back Diogo Dalot is also expected to play, having featured in the club's recent Champions League clash.
"He has played there but with an empty stadium. He played in the Under-23s, now he plays in the first team," Mourinho added.
"Obviously people liked what they saw in the match against Young Boys. This is an English competition, the different salt and pepper that English competitions have, and I think it is good for him, for his development, for him to be ready for the top flight as soon as possible."
