Manchester United’s travelling squad for their Premier League clash with Fulham has been confirmed and Ruben Amorim has delivered a hint surrounding the midfield.
Manchester United shift focus to their second Premier League fixture of the season as they travel to face Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Ruben Amorim’s side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford in their opener, but their display carried plenty of positives after an impressive pre-season campaign.
This weekend, though, United will be under pressure to turn promise into points, with victory viewed as essential to getting their season up and running.
Fulham, managed by Marco Silva, are also in search of their first win, having earned a late equaliser against Brighton on the opening weekend.
United confirmed 21-man travelling squad vs Fulham
Ahead of the game, United’s squad members were spotted travelling to London from Manchester and there were 21 players travelling for the game.
André Onana returns to action after being left out against Arsenal. Altay Bayındır and Tom Heaton have also travelled although the latter will likely not be named in the matchday squad.
In defence the following players have been named: Matthijs de Ligt, Diogo Dalot, Tyler Fredricson, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, Patrick Dorgu and Harry Maguire.
Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martínez remain unavailable while young defender Diego Leon has not been included in the squad.
Ahead of that group in midfield includes Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro while Amad, Mason Mount, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Joshua Zirkzee and Benjamin Šeško are the attacking players involved.
Amorim delivers midfield hint
Last weekend, Mainoo started on the bench against Arsenal and was not brought on as a substitute which surprised many fans.
After Amorim’s latest comments, it seems like the 20-year-old will probably not start again against Fulham after he singled out Casemiro for praise ahead of the game.
“Yeah, I think you can see that is a fact,” said Ruben when asked if his squad are tougher than last season.
“Because you can see with the data. Then, with confidence sometimes you react a little bit sooner and you are near the ball.
“Again, against Arsenal we were sometimes building up but we had to kick the ball, and you could see the reaction of the players in the second balls — the duels — we are stronger, we are recovering our positions faster,” said Amorim.
“I remember at least two times in the corner, one time with [Martin] Odegaard running with the ball, and you could look at our players and we are sprinting full power.
“Even Casemiro, is in a different pace. So, all these things, I can watch the games since the start of the season and we are consistent in that, so that is important.”
Read More: Luke Shaw reveals Manchester United dressing room reaction to Arsenal defeat, healthy balance found
With Fernandes almost guaranteed to start in the middle of midfield, it seems like the Brazilian will be the chosen partner for him once again. Mainoo, however, will likely be preferred over Ugarte as an impact substitute after the latter’s display off the bench last weekend.
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