Rúben Amorim’s biggest starting XI headache next season may involve dropping an “absolutely brilliant” player for the club’s opening Premier League fixture.
As Manchester United continue their work in the summer transfer market, Rúben Amorim is focused on getting his squad ready for the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The team will begin pre-season training in mid-July, with five matches lined up. Their first test comes in Sweden, where they’ll face familiar rivals Leeds United at the Strawberry Arena.
United will then head to the United States for fixtures against West Ham, Bournemouth, and Everton, before wrapping up their preparations with a home game against Fiorentina, featuring former Red David de Gea.
The Premier League have confirmed that United’s opening match of the season will be a high-profile clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday, 17 August, kicking off at 16:30 BST.
United’s starting XI vs Arsenal mostly picks itself
The first day of pre-season training will see most of United’s first-team squad return on 7 July, with Lisandro Martínez the only player who is not fit for duty until later in the summer after his ACL injury.
Matheus Cunha will have had a full six weeks of training by the time United line up to face Arsenal, and Bryan Mbeumo will not be far off if he can finalise his transfer in the next two weeks. If this is the case, both players are expected to start.
If United secure a new starting striker and midfielder in the coming month, too, it’s likely that they will also be in Amorim’s starting team as of the first competitive weekend of the season.
Barring injuries, André Onana will be in goal, and Bruno Fernandes will be in midfield. Noussair Mazraoui and Leny Yoro will likely cover the wide centre-back areas, while Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Amad will occupy the left and right flanks of Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation.
Amorim’s biggest selection headache is at the back
The only big selection headache Amorim currently has ahead of the Arsenal game is who starts as the middle centre-back when United line up at Old Trafford in mid-August. There are two leading candidates – Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.
Amorim often likes to see his middle centre-back step into midfield in possession and form a de facto midfield three, which opens up passing lanes and allows the wing-backs to push high on the front line.
Maguire was “absolutely brilliant” in that role last season. Still, with the centre-back turning 33 years of age later in the campaign, the odds of him being able to continue playing that role over a sustained period will grow increasingly slimmer.
On the other hand, De Ligt was improving vastly in the same position before injuries curtailed his final month or so of the campaign, and is the better long-term choice in the middle of Amorim’s back three.
Following the inconsistencies of last season, Amorim will use this pre-season to determine a settled starting XI for the opening day against Arsenal. If he wants consistency and build for the future, he may have to select De Ligt over Maguire when the two sides face off in 50 days.
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