Ruben Amorim will take charge of his first game as Manchester United manager this weekend as his new side take on Ipswich Town.
The Portuguese boss is going to be on the touchline at Portman Road, aiming to start on the right foot after a successful interim spell under Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy went unbeaten in his short stint after taking over from Erik ten Hag and steadied the ship for Amorim’s arrival.
Man United are still 13th in the Premier League though following their worst-ever start, leaving them desperately in need of points to rise up the table.
Their opening game under a new regime comes against Ipswich who stunned Tottenham to claim their first top-flight win before the international break.
Kieran McKenna, who used to be a Red Devils coach, also worked at Spurs and will be eyeing another scalp against his former employers.
Ipswich vs Man United: Amorim’s first line-up
Amorim has a few big decisions to make in his first game at Man United.
The first of those comes in defence as he has multiple injuries to deal with.
He is known to play a 3-4-3 formation and there are no signs of him moving away from that, so United will be changing their system.
It does mean he needs three centre-backs and with Harry Maguire injured and Victor Lindelof a doubt along with Lisandro Martinez, his options are limited.
Lindelof hobbled off for Sweden at the weekend and Martinez was sent home by Argentina with a back issue.
Matthijs de Ligt will start and it’s likely Jonny Evans will have to come in too while in that third spot, Leny Yoro could finally be set to make his debut.
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Yoro is yet to appear for United after suffering a serious foot injury in pre-season, but the £52million teenager has been back in training and could be ready to feature.
Behind the defence, Andre Onana will of course be in goal, as Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui take up roles further up the pitch at wing-back.
Kobbie Mainoo returned to training on Monday but hasn’t played a single minute since October 6 due to injury so a midfield pairing of Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro is expected.
However, Mason Mount and Christian Eriksen will be hoping to impress Amorim in his early days to break into his best line-up eventually.
Mount could even play in a more advanced position behind the striker, which is where Bruno Fernandes will be slotting into this system.
And it’s next to Fernandes that Amorim has a major decision to make…
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Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo have been competing for two starting spots for the majority of the season.
It now looks like they’ll only have one to fight over from now on as their new manager won’t be playing with out-and-out wingers.
Rashford has failed to regain any form this campaign while Garnacho has been criticised too, leaving Amad as potentially the best option.
He played in a more central role while on loan at Sunderland and earned rave reviews from his former Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray.
As well as that, he has looked the most dangerous of the three players in recent weeks, so Amorim may opt to pick him from the off.
Up front, Rasmus Hojlund will be the Viktor Gyokeres of this system at Man United, as Joshua Zirkzee challenges him for a start.
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- Manchester United won their last away league game against Ipswich (1-0 in April 2002). Only once in their league history have they won consecutive visits to Portman Road, doing so in 1962/1963.
- This will be Rúben Amorim’s first match in charge of Manchester United. Aged 39 years and 302 days on the day of this game, he’s the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
Ipswich vs Man United: What has been said?
Amorim has already revealed what Man United fans can expect to see in his first game in charge.
Speaking to the club’s website, he said: “I think you will see an idea. You could like it or not, I don’t know, but you will see an idea.
“You will see a positioning. You will see something that we want to reach that kind of level. You will feel that.
“We have to know that it’s like two trainings before the first match. This is the best league in the world.
“But if I have to say something to you, [it’s that] you will see an idea. This I can guarantee.”
He added: “The most important thing for me, at this moment, is to create the principles, the identity and the character that we had in the past.”
- After their first Premier League win of the season last time out away to Tottenham, Ipswich are looking to earn back-to-back wins in the competition for the first time since February 2002 (a run of four that started with a 2-1 win against Tottenham).
- Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has made 137 passes which have broken the opposition’s offside line in the Premier League this season, at least 15 more than any other player.
Ipswich vs Man United: How to follow
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, November 25.
Kick-off at Portman Road is scheduled for 4:30pm.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. You can sign up to Sky Sports here.
talkSPORT will also keep you up to date with all the latest news and reaction.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Meanwhile, talkSPORT.com will have live updates of the game on our dedicated live blog.
