(3-4-3): Mainoo and Urgarte leads midfield but FIVE first team players injured- Man United’s ultimate lineups under Ruben Amorim as several superstars sustained injuries during the international break
New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim will take charge of his first match after the international break against Ipswich Town on November 25 (3:30am AEDT).
The current Sporting boss is set to shake things up upon his arrival at Old Trafford and one of his first port of calls will be the Red Devils’ line-up.
Amorim is renowned for playing a 3-4-3 formation that utilises attacking full-backs and a frontline that is more centrally positioned.
So what will that look like and which players are expected to start?
Former Premier League stars Michael Owen and Aaron Ramsey put a potential Manchester United line-up together on The Final Word on Optus Sport.
Goalkeeper: Andre Onana
One thing that will remain the same under Amorim, at least initially, will be Onana staying as their No.1 goalkeeper.
Onana has been one of the few Erik ten Hag signings that have managed to impress consistently at Old Trafford and he is clearly Amorim’s current best option between the sticks.
Defenders: Matthijs De Ligt – Leny Yoro – Lisandro Martinez
Amorim has consistently used a back three during his managerial career to date and that preference was reportedly one of the reasons why Liverpool opted against pursuing his services earlier this year.
The central position in the back three will be vital and both Ramsey and Owen believe 18-year-old Leny Yoro is primed to make it his own once recovered from injury.
“I think Yoro in the middle there, likes to progress with the ball and maybe come into the midfield line and break that initial press so he’d be the one more comfortable in doing that and driving forward,” Ramsey said.
Owen agreed and added that having aggressive defenders either side will be key too.
“I think that’s an important position because Amorim has got a reputation of that central player coming into the midfield so that central player has got to be decent on the ball,” Owen said.
“I think De Ligt and Martinez either side, they’re both aggressive defenders.
“If everyone’s fit, we think those are the three that they’ll go with.”
That notably leaves the likes of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans relegated to the bench.
Midfielders: Diogo Dalot – Manuel Ugarte – Kobbie Mainoo – Luke Shaw
Moving into the midfield and notably the wide players here will be full-backs expected to cover the entire pitch.
Dalot and Shaw got the nod either side here but Noussair Mazraoui and Tyrell Malacia could also potentially make a claim for the positions.
In central midfield, Casemiro is the big name overlooked with Owen and Ramsey preferring Ugarte because of his previous experience playing under Amorim at Sporting.
“We did debate that Casemiro and Ugarte was a bit of a toss of a coin, but we just thought that with Ugarte having played under him that might just tip it in the balance,” Owen said.
Ramsey added: “He’s won the league with Sporting, he uderstands the manager and knows what he’s asking of the players in this formation.”
Forwards: Bruno Fernandes – Rasmus Hojlund – Marcus Rashford
Heading into the final third and it’s worth noting Amorim likes the two players either side of the striker to play more centrally.
That thinking saw young star Alejandro Garnacho overlooked despite starting the club’s last six Premier League matches with Fernandes and Rashford deemed more suited to the roles.
“These two players play are not necessarily wide players, they come in and play as No.10s and that plays into the advantage of someone like Fernandes,” Owen said
“With those players coming inside, you could argue, can Rashford play inside? I think he can.”
Ramsey added: “Rashford has loads of quality and hopefully now under this manager it’ll give him a new lease of life to reach the levels that he has done in the past.
“He’s an unbelievable player on his day and I feel like in that system, in them little holes, pockets, he might be a little bit more suited to that.”
Despite lingering question marks over his long-term suitability for life at Manchester United, Hojlund was seen as the obvious choice to start as the No.9.
Amorim does, however, have a Sporting striker that recently scored hat-trick against Manchester City and could well be brought to Old Trafford before too long.
