Rúben Amorim confirms four of his Manchester United stars will be unavailable against Newcastle as the two sides clash at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
Rúben Amorim is gearing his squad up for their penultimate fixture of the calendar year at Old Trafford as Manchester United welcome Newcastle on Friday evening.
Due to Premier League scheduling rules, the tie is the only one to feature on Boxing Day for the festive period, with the evening kick-off primed to be a fistey afair.
Both clubs have struggled this season, with each side scoring plenty of goals but conceding far too many, which bodes well for a tie that could feature a high-scoring line.
United sit 7th in the league table, but a win on Boxing Day could see Amorim’s side lifted to joint-fourth in the league, ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea’s games on the weekend. Meanwhile, three points for Newcastle, who sit 11th, would see them draw level with the Reds.
Amorim confirms four absences vs Newcastle
United’s last game, a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa, saw Amorim confirm that Kobbie Mainoo would be unavailable to face Birmingham. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes had to come off injured at half-time with a hamstring issue.
With Bryan Mbeumo, Amad, and Noussair Mazraoui already unavailable due to the Africa Cup of Nations, Amorim confirmed that Mainoo and Fernandes will not feature against Newcastle, either.
“No, not for this game [Newcastle], they are recovering,” Amorim said. “I don’t think it will take a lot of time, I think Kobbie will return faster than Bruno.”
When asked when Fernandes would return, Amorim responded: “I don’t want to say. I have an idea, of course, but let’s see.”
Speaking further, the United boss also confirmed that Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire remained unavailable.
“We are still working with them,” Amorim said about the defensive pair. “They are not available for this one, but let’s see for the next one.”
Meanwhile, Casemiro is expected to return to the starting XI after his one-game suspension was served against Villa.
Amorim namedrops possible Fernandes replacement
Against Villa, Amorim handed debuts to young stars Jack Fletcher and Shea Lacey, both of whom have impressed in the youth ranks over the past year or so.
During the press conference on Christmas Eve, Amorim was also asked about filling the void left by Fernandes and Mainoo’s absence.
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“We have other players, we need to maybe see different ways of playing,” AMorim said. “I think Jack Fletcher did a very good job, and that’s why when we have these opportunities, we need to give space to guys like Jack and the other ones.”
While starting Fletcher against Newcastle to replace Fernandes may be a step too far, it would not be surprising to see the 18-year-old make another appearance off the bench for his Old Trafford debut.
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