Chris Sutton has disagreed with an AI prediction of Manchester United’s next fixture, as they prepare to face Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Manchester United welcome Sunderland to Old Trafford ahead of the October international break, the first clash between the two sides since April 2017.
Rúben Amorim has endured a tough opening to the campaign, with United recording just two victories in six Premier League matches and sitting 14th in the table, only one place higher than their disappointing 15th-place finish last season.
Sunderland have enjoyed a far brighter start on their return to the top flight, with Régis Le Bris guiding his team to fifth place on 11 points from six games.
After suffering a 3-1 defeat at Brentford, Amorim finds himself under growing pressure to deliver results as doubts over his tenure continue to rise among fans.
Sutton disagrees with AI’s score prediction
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton always predicts the weekend’s Premier League fixtures with BBC Sport, and held nothing back as he previewed United’s fixture against the Black Cats.
The former English forward initially stated that he had predicted Sunderland would lose almost every fixture so far, only to watch them continue to win. Praising their organisation, Sutton opted to suggest that Sunderland would take all three points at Old Trafford.
When moving to the home side, he said, “Manchester United, on the other hand, are still a mess.
“You can blame Ruben Amorim for that as much as you like, but when your centre-half is running out and taking a chance on an offside on a long ball, like Harry Maguire did for Brentford’s first goal last week, then that is just terrible defending.
“That’s where I feel for Amorim. Altay Bayındır should also have done better with Brentford’s second goal, and the goalkeeping situation is perplexing, too – they have brought Senne Lammens in, but where is he?
“It is just all muddled thinking at United, and Amorim is starting to look like a guy who wants to be put out of his misery. They are just not improving under him, although he might actually get a result here off the back of me saying Sunderland will win.”
Sutton’s final score prediction ended with a 1-0 win for the visitors, although BBC’s AI prediction stated the most likely outcome is a 1-0 win for Amorim’s men.
United would do well to keep a clean sheet
An issue that has plagued United so far this season is that, through their seven fixtures, they have not kept a single clean sheet. The side have so far conceded 11 in the Premier League and twice against Grimsby Town in their Carabao Cup loss.
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Before the United can think about winning games by scoring goals, they need a significantly better defensive foundation. Bayındır has not been good enough in goal so far, and many are now calling for Senne Lammens to be handed his debut after a £18 million move to Manchester in the summer.
Amorim has substituted at least one of his centre-backs in over 40 of his almost 50 fixtures as United head coach, which has baffled many, as the central defenders are hardly players you usually pick to switch unprompted.
If United can keep their first clean sheet of the season when Sunderland visit on Saturday afternoon, this will go a long way to helping Amorim’s side have a much more stable performance.
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