Rúben Amorim has three heavy decisions he must make as he picks his Manchester United starting XI to face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United are returning to domestic action this weekend as Rúben Amorim takes his side to face Manchester City in the Premier League.
Neither Amorim’s nor Pep Guardiola’s sides have had an impressive start to the season. United have won one, drawn one, and lost one in the league, while City have three points in three games, sitting 13th in the league.
However, the upcoming Manchester derby provides the perfect chance for redemption for both sides and the ability to further sink their rivals in what has been an intriguing start to the Premier League season.
Last time out at the Etihad Stadium, where the coming tie took place, late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad saw Amorim’s men secure an incredible 2-1 comeback win just before the turn of the year.
With the tie against City no doubt set to be a tough one, there are three starting XI decisions that he must make before kick-off.
Who starts in goal?
United’s goalkeeper situation has been of intense debate in the last few weeks. Altay Bayındır has started all three Premier League ties. At the same time, André Onana performed woefully in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town and has since left on loan to Turkish side Trabzonspor.
United signed 23-year-old goalkeeper Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp for an initial £18.2 million on deadline day, and the Belgian shot-stopper has been training at Carrington this week.
With Onana out of the picture, the starting goalkeeper against City is a toss-up between Bayındır and Lammens. The former appears unconfident in dealing with set pieces. However, Lammens’ debut for United coming as an away fixture against Manchester City would be a very tricky first start.
According to reports earlier this week, Bayındır looked to be the favourite in goal, but with Lammens set for a full week of training under the watch of Amorim, this gives the Belgian time to change the head coach’s mind.
Who starts at striker?
The second decision Amorim must make is who starts as the striker. Matheus Cunha has so far been the Premier League frontman for United, but with the Brazilian’s injury throwing his availability into doubt, Amorim will have to turn to someone new.
Bryan Mbeumo filled the role at points once Cunha came off against Burnley. Still, it feels as if the decision is going to come down to either playing Benjamin Šeško, who played 90 minutes twice for Slovenia across the international break, or Joshua Zirkzee, who has only just returned from injury.
The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, always well informed of the happenings inside Carrington, has tipped Šeško to start the tie, suggesting it would be “strange” if the 22-year-old did not line up from the off against Guardiola’s men on Sunday afternoon.
However, Zirkzee’s style of play, dropping deeper to give wide runners the chance to capitalise by breaking the defensive lines, has previously been a route of success for United, with Anthony Martial’s performances at the Etihad an example. It’s a tough call to make.
Who starts at right centre-back?
The final significant decision Amorim will have to make is who starts at right centre-back. Leny Yoro has been fantastic so far on the right-hand side, but a colossal cameo from Noussair Mazraoui against Burnley has thrown a spanner into the works.
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After playing over 80 minutes in all three of United’s Premier League games so far, Yoro has been busy with the French U21 national side. Similarly, Shaw has started all three of the club’s league ties this season, and his previous injury problems will always be at the back of United’s mind.
Given this, Amorim may choose to rest one of Yoro or Shaw for what will be a very intense game at the Etihad Stadium. If this is the former, Mazraoui can easily slot in at right centre-back.
If Shaw is rested instead, Yoro would simply move over to the left flank, with Mazraoui again available to fill the vacant space.
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