Rúben Amorim has explained his decision to start Manuel Ugarte as Manchester United face Brentford on Saturday afternoon in a Premier League showdown.
Manchester United start this weekend’s Premier League action with a Saturday afternoon trip to Brentford in West London.
Rúben Amorim’s men have recorded two wins, two losses and a draw so far, leaving them 11th in the table and struggling to build momentum.
Their victories have come through Bruno Fernandes’ late penalty against Burnley and last week’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, a match that shifted firmly in United’s favour after Robert Sánchez was sent off.
That success against Enzo Maresca’s side now gives Amorim the chance to string together consecutive league wins for the first time since his arrival — a step that could spark the consistency they have been missing.
Rúben Amorim explains why Ugarte starts over Mainoo
For the tie, Amorim chose to start United’s new front three, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Šeško, together for the first time. At the same time, Kobbie Mainoo remains on the bench with Manuel Ugarte and Fernandes preferred in midfield.
In defence, Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, and Luke Shaw remain in the back three, while Altay Bayındır has kept his place in goal despite calls for summer shot-stopping recruit Senne Lammens to make his debut.
Speaking with TNT Sporst before the tie, Amorim was asked why it’s Ugarte replaceing Casemiro instead of Mainoo, to which he replied: “Kobbie Mainoo can give us different things in that position, and we talk about that during the week.
“But in the end, we look at Brentford for the number of transitions. We have three players in front, also Bruno, so we try to manage to balance the team.”
Further, he was asked how excited he was to see his new front three start together, but Amorim admitted he was more concerned about his team’s defensive organisation.
“The first thing, I’m not concerned about the attacking part, I’m concerned about the way we defend,” he continued.
“I remember that we finished the game against Fulham with three in front, and we struggled a little bit in certain things, especially in the way we pressed. So everything is important in one game.
“So I’m more concerned about the way we are going to defend than we are going to attack with the three guys in front.”
Amorim feels United are better equipped to face Brentford
Toward the end of last season, United’s away fixture against Brentford saw Amorim’s side lose 4-3, although the match is much better reflected by the fact that the home side were 4-1 up before goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad rescued some pride.
However, speaking with club media ahead of the fixture, Amorim explained that he feels his squad are now much better equipped to face the West London team amid changes in Brentford’s ranks after a summer of sales under Keith Andrews.
“The speed [of Brentford] is more or less the same, so they play with a lot of throw-ins also, a lot of transitions, a lot of crosses, so we are prepared for that,” Amorim explained when asked how he assesses the opposition.
“The important thing is that I think we are a better team compared to the last team, and that is something that excites me to go to Brentford, but in the Premier League, you know that every game is a fight; we just need to be ready to fight.”
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