Rúben Amorim has no excuse not to start a criminally underused Manchester United player as they travel to face Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United will be kicking off this weekend’s Premier League action as they travel to face Brentford in West London on Saturday afternoon.
So far this season, Rúben Amorim’s side have accrued two wins, two losses and a draw in the domestic top flight, leaving them 11th in the league table, and many are worried about the chances of creating any sort of consistent form.
The club’s two wins have come courtesy of a late penalty by Bruno Fernandes against Burnley, while the victory over Chelsea last week was in large part due to Robert Sanchez being sent off, handing United utter domination for when they scored their two goals.
But, after the win over Enzo Maresca’s side, the trip to face Brentford hands Amorim the perfect chance to finally win two Premier League games in a row for the first time since he took charge, which would offer the hope of putting together a consistent run of form.
Lammens must be handed his first chance in goal
The tie against Chelsea saw United once again fail to keep a clean sheet, with shot-stopper Altay Bayındır having conceded eight goals across his five appearances this season. Further to this, Trevoh Chalobah’s effort was Chelsea’s only shot on target for the 90 minutes.
While it’s understandable that Amorim has not risked playing new goalkeeper signing Senne Lammens against either Manchester City or Chelsea since his £18 million deadline day transfer, he must be given his first outing for United this coming weekend.
Brentford have been surprisingly sprightly in attack this season with six goals in five games, considering they lost their leading duo, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, last summer. However, they still sit 17th on just four points, having conceded ten in that time, too.
But, with high-pressure fixtures such as the Man City and Chelsea sides now out of the way, the trip away to Brentford is a fantastic chance to hand the 23-year-old his opening minutes and put his abilities to the test.
United will head to the Gtech Community Stadium looking to dominate on the ball and play front-footed football, which suits the Belgian. If he is the club’s long-term No. 1, Lammens must be given his debut chance to show why United are putting their faith in him.
Amorim has no excuse not to start Mainoo
The Kobbie Mainoo conundrum has been a bubbling point of tension at United so far this season, with the 20-year-old yet to start a single Premier League fixture. Mainoo’s talent is undeniable, but Amorim has persisted with other options from the start for every game bar one this season.
However, Casemiro’s red card against Chelsea on the weekend will mean the Brazilian serves a one-game ban for the weekend’s coming fixture. Mainoo, who is being “criminally underused” by Amorim at United, must start in his place.
If United are looking to dominate on the ball as mentioned above, Amorim must look to have players in his team who can control the tempo of a fixture, keep the ball at their feet, and drive forward while in possession, and Mainoo epitomises that.
The only other realistic option for United is to start Manuel Ugarte, who has failed to impress, but it’s hard to think that Ugarte’s defensive abilities outweigh the dynamite Mainoo gives when United have the ball at their feet.
With Casemiro out of action due to suspension, there’s no excuse not to start Mainoo and give him the chance to flourish in the middle of the park.
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