Rúben Amorim has issued a hint on who may be starting for Manchester United as the squad head across town to face Manchester City.
Manchester United head back into Premier League action this weekend as Rúben Amorim leads his side into a derby clash with Manchester City.
Both teams have endured sluggish starts to the campaign. United’s first three matches have yielded one win, one draw and one loss, while City also sit on three points, leaving them 13th in the table.
The derby now provides a pivotal chance for either side to reset their season and, at the same time, push their rivals further off course in what has been a chaotic beginning to the league.
On their previous visit to the Etihad, United staged a dramatic turnaround, with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad sealing a famous 2-1 win just before the turn of the year.
Amorim reveals Bayındır will start vs Man City
After a two-week break due to the international fixtures, Amorim sat down with journalists to conduct his pre-match press conference and spoke about the club’s current goalkeeping situation.
There has been much debate as to who will start against City in goal, with Altay Bayındır looking shaky in his three appearances so far amid the arrival of Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.
However, the United boss confirmed that Bayındır will continue in goal for now, but that the duo will fight for the positions.
“Altay is going to continue,” Amorim said during his pre-match press conference.
“Different league, different country, different ball. They will fight for the position. It is clear. Altay will start. He is ready to play, he will play.”
Lammens could make his debut soon
While Amorim continued to explain that he wants Bayındır to be his first choice this weekend, he also hinted that Lammens is already ready to play when called upon. However, he also commented that he wants Bayındır to play against City due to his strength, experience, and more immediate impact.
“We are really pleased, he is a goalkeeper with a lot of potential,” the head coach continued.
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“We are in moment where we need a goalkeeper to be really strong, have a lot of experience, but also in moment we have to look at present, but with focus on future, a little bit both. He is one more option to play. He will be ready.”
United’s next few fixtures after the City tie involve home games against Chelsea and Sunderland, as well as an away trip against Brentford. Once the City and Chelsea fixtures are out of the way,
Lammens could be handed his first start for the club against either Brentford or Sunderland in the coming weeks.
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