Manchester United face Sunderland today knowing they need to win to lift the mood at Old Trafford ahead of the international break.
Ross joined the MEN in August 2021. He was appointed Sport Content Editor in February 2022 and became Head of Football in August 2024.
Casemiro could return today
It feels like you’re never far from a crisis at Manchester United but they’ve become all too frequent in recent years.
It’s easy to forget the optimism that surrounded the club after an uplifting pre-season campaign with a number of big-money signings having arrived in the summer. Even the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on the opening day brought a number of positives to cling to, but since then the lows have far outweighed the highs.
Questions over Ruben Amorim’s tactics refuse to go away, and a defeat against Sunderland today will give the United hierarchy a question to answer in terms of the Portuguese coach’s future.
Altay Bayindir looks set to start in goal again in the Premier League. He pulled off some decent saves at Brentford last week but should have done much better for Mathias Jensen’s goal in added time.
United’s backline looked very frail at the Gtech Community Stadium and so it makes no sense for their best defender to be on the bench, so Leny Yoro comes back into the starting XI. He can start alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw.
Amad is available after missing last week’s defeat due to a family bereavement, but Amorim rarely goes gung-ho with his team selection and it’s difficult to see him doing so in such a huge game. Amad should play when available but Amorim could spring a surprise and name him on the bench with Diogo Dalot starting.
Casemiro will come back into the side after his suspension, with Bruno Fernandes starting alongside him, while Patrick Dorgu starts on the left.
Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo started together for the first time last week and there were promising signs as Sesko scored his first United goal and Mbeumo and Cunha linked up to win the penalty that Fernandes missed.
Predicted XI: Bayindir, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko
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