Manchester United hosts Sunderland at Premier League Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, with manager Reuben Amorim needing a victory to ease the pressure on work
Reuben Amorim was handed a double boost ahead of a key match against Sunderland on Saturday. Amorim is fighting to continue his job as Manchester United boss after a horrific defeat by Brentford last weekend, knowing that another loss can spell the end of his tenure.
United sits 14th in the Premier League and hosts Sunderland at Old Trafford, winning two of two of their six games so far. Knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby, Amorim knows he’s running out of time to get things to go.
The defeat to the newly estimated black cat heading for a two-week international break causes owner Ineo, which can ease his duties in less than a year. He has won 18 of 18 of 49 matches in all competitions and is desperately needed to find consistency.
The returns of Casemiro and Amado could be key for the Portuguese boss, both returning to training on Wednesday. Casemiro missed the Brentford match with a halt following the red card that won Chelsea 2-1 the previous weekend, but Amado was given a caring vacation after the death of his family.
read more: Gareth Southgate’s stance on replacing Reuben Amorim as Man UTD managerread more: Bruno Fernandez shows true colour to the stars of the “bomb squad” given a fresh chance
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, we saw Tyrell Malacia return to training for the first team. Malacia was part of the so-called bomb team throughout the summer, but of the five players, he was the only one who couldn’t find a new club.
The 26-year-old defender saw the proposed move fall apart and his contract was set to expire at the end of June. He was relegated to train under the age of 21, but after impressing his professionalism, he was promoted to the first team.
The Dutch has not played for United since January 30th, and has made just 47 appearances since joining Fayenord in the summer of 2022 for £13m. He needed two rounds of surgery with a knee injury and was on the sidelines for 17 months, now fighting to return to the team.
Malacia is behind both Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw, but in the poor form of the team, Amorim can try and give him the opportunity. He spent the second half of last season on loan with PSV Eindhoven, where he appeared in all competitions 12 times, but has very matching Match Fitness. In other words, engagement can be considered a gamble.
However, Amado and Casemiro could return to their starting lineup with Sunderland. Amad started five of five of the six opening games of the season on the right field, but it appears that Casemiro is preferred to hold the midfielder alongside Captain Bruno Fernandez.
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