Rúben Amorim addresses ‘harsh’ Manchester United XI change vs Leicester City (Premier League)

Rúben Amorim has addressed the “harsh” decision to drop Casemiro as Manchester United play Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday evening.

Manchester United return to Premier League action with a visit to Leicester City, as Rúben Amorim looks to build on his team’s strong midweek performance.

United produced a dominant display on Thursday night, securing a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad to book their place in the Europa League quarter-finals, where they will face Olympique Lyonnais next month.

With that tie still on the horizon, United now shift their focus back to domestic football, aiming to improve on their current 14th-place standing in the league.

This match also sees United reunited with club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, who briefly served as interim manager before Amorim’s arrival in November. It will be the second time the two managers meet on the touchline this season.

United have already beaten Leicester three times this campaign, winning in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and Premier League—all at Old Trafford. However, this time, they face the challenge of securing victory at the King Power Stadium.

Amorim addresses ‘harsh’ United XI decision

With United’s line-ups being announced for the tie ahead of kick-off, it has been confirmed that André Onana will be starting in goal despite fears that he would not be fit to play due to illness.

Christian Eriksen has come in to replace Joshua Zirkzee in attack, while Casemiro has been dropped in order to play Manuel Ugarte alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield.

Casemiro has started United’s last three games and has been quality of late, with Mail Sport reporter Nathan Salt suggesting that dropping the Brazilian after his good recent performances is harsh on the player.

However, speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the fixture, Amorim explained that the decision to drop Casemiro is down to needing to keep players fresh as opposed to in relation to recent performances.

“It’s important, but it’s more rotation because Casemiro has been doing an amazing job, but it was three games in a row, he was so tired last Thursday,” Amorim said when asked it if was improtant to see Ugarte return.

“So we felt that we need to rotate some players too, because we need to be fresh for this game.”

What Amorim expects from Leicester

Further, Amorim was asked how the win against Sociedad in midweek can help fuel the side heading into the midlands clash.

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However, the head coach was keen to explain that he feels the two fixtures are not connected, and that he just wants his side to focus on playing a Leicester team who have become “really organised” in the last few weeks.

“That is in the past. Let’s move on, this is really important to us,” the 40-year-old explained.

“I felt watching the games of Leicester they are really organised. Last game against Chelsea they changed to a back three and I felt this team is alive. We need to stay focused and play like we did against Chelsea.”

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