Rúben Amorim has explained where Luke Shaw will play as Manchester United face Bournemouth on the south coast on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
Manchester United are set for a trip to the south coast this weekend as Rúben Amorim’s side take on a high-flying Bournemouth team on Sunday afternoon.
Amorim will be keen to see a reaction after United’s 3-0 defeat to Andoni Iraola’s men at Old Trafford toward the back end of 2024.
Their last league match ended in frustration, with a superb late free-kick from Pablo Sarabia condemning the Reds to a 1-0 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers and denying André Onana a clean sheet.
With the league form stuttering, United’s focus is increasingly shifting toward their Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao, where a win would secure Champions League football and an additional £85 million in funding.
Amorim reveals Shaw’s position vs Bournemouth
Ahead of the fixture, it was announced that Amorim had chosen to select Luke Shaw, with the player starting his first game for United since 18 February 2024 – 434 days ago.
Speaking to Sky, Amorim revealed that Shaw will be playing as part of the back three, rather than at left wing-back.
“He’s going to start in the back three,” Amorim said. “That is not a clear back three, so you will see during the game. I think it’s the best position for him at the moment.
“We have to take a little bit of a risk there, because we have to manage all the players, we have the problem with [Diogo] Dalot, so we have different players to play with different characteristics. To have this kind of players like him, like Mason Mount, improves the team a lot.”
Why is Amorim playing a strong XI?
Speaking further, Amorim was asked why he was fielding a strong starting team despite the Europa League fixture against Bilbao just days later.
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“Firstly, as a Manchester United coach and as a team, we have to put a strong team, especially against this kind of team, so we know it’s a tough game,” he continued.
“Then we had one full week, most of the players didn’t play against Wolverhampton because it was too dangerous, because of the injuries.
“So we had time to prepare Athletic Bilbao, so we tried to use one, some of Ugarte is on the bench today, so I tried to manage to win the game, to prepare for the next one. I think the big problem is going to be the next Premier League game. In terms of rotation, today I didn’t feel that need.”
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