Rúben Amorim has discussed his plans for managing his squad during the upcoming festive schedule as Manchester United prepare to face Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United are in red-hot form as Rúben Amorim’s men prepare to take on Nottingham Forest away from home in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Amorim’s side have built real momentum with three straight wins, beating Sunderland 2-0, edging Liverpool 2-1, and sweeping aside Brighton 4-2 at Old Trafford last weekend.
Forest’s season has been far more turbulent, with the Tricky Trees already turning to their third manager of the campaign in Sean Dyche.
United’s impressive streak has lifted them to sixth in the Premier League, moving ahead of Liverpool, while Forest sit 18th on five points from nine games — setting up a tense and fiery battle at The City Ground.
Amad and Mbeumo will continue starting
In the build-up to the Forest fixture on Saturday afternoon, Amorim spent Thursday talking to the press about the fixture, the noise surrounding United, and the upcoming games. United have four games in November and another six in December.
Amid the December and January schedule, the African Cup of Nations runs between 21 December and 18 January, with Amad (Ivory Coast), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), and Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) all set to compete.
The United boss spoke about the former two and the impact losing them will have at United, but also confirmed that he plans to start both players right up until the moment they have to depart for AFCON.
“We have time to suffer with that. We are going to struggle a little bit, we already know,” Amorim said. “It’s going to be an opportunity [for others] because when I watch the training, there are players that should be playing.
“But it’s hard with one game to take some players from the team because they are doing well also, in the training and in the games. Other players are going to have the opportunity to help us, they are understanding the way we want to play.
“If we are improving on that, the change of characteristics are not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team, but let’s use Amad and Bryan in these games and then see in January.”
Mainoo will benefit from December fixtures
As Amorim alluded to, there are players in United’s squad who deserve to be playing due to their quality and brilliance, and one of these is undoubtedly Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo is yet to start a Premier League fixture for United this season, with Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Manuel Ugarte so far preferred over him – although Amorim has been keen to use him from the bench as often as possible.
The United boss has been strong in saying that Mainoo is competing with Fernandes for a spot in the middle of the park, and when Mbeumo vacates the right flank, the club captain could move up the field to cover, leaving the 20-year-old with a starting spot next to Casemiro.
Alternatively, Mainoo himself could be deployed in the right-sided attacking spot, with his technical brilliance in close quarters being a valuable asset, especially when playing alongside a striker such as Benjamin Šeško.
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