Manchester United will seek their first win under Ruben Amorim as their new manager takes charge at Old Trafford for the first time.
The hosts welcome Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt to Old Trafford in Amorim’s first Europa League game looking to get their stuttering campaign back on track. While the Portuguese coach’s opening fixture against Ipswich brought a new system and new approach, many of the same failings that led to the sacking of Erik ten Hag remained apparent as Manchester United ceded an early lead to be held at Portman Road.
Their visitors tonight begin the fifth round of fixtures in this revamped league phase a point ahead of Amorim’s side, though may have one eye on Sunday’s decisive Eliteserien fixture against relegated Lillestrom. Victory there will secure a fourth title in five years for the club, who play their home games inside the Arctic Circle and should thus have few qualms with a chilly Manchester night.
Follow all of the action from Old Trafford in our live blog below:
Ruben Amorim expecting tough test against Bodo/Glimt
“I’m expecting a very good team,” the Manchester United manager said of the Norwegian visitors on match eve. “They can win the league this week I think, they run a lot and that’s a very good thing for us at the moment. We need to improve that, so we know that in this game we have to run a lot. They have some special players in the wingers, they can play on the pockets very well and they have aura of winning games and this is also because they’re winning all the time. I’m expecting a very intense game, a very good game and I hope to see different things. Improve some things we didn’t do so well in the last game, so it will be a good game.”
Bodo/Glimt team news
Perhaps with more than one eye on Sunday’s potentially title-securing league clash, Bodo/Glimt make five changes from their weekend win.
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin; Wembangomo, Gundersen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Brunstad Fet; Zinchernagel, Helmersen, Hauge.
Manchester United team news
Ruben Amorim promised changes and he has made six of them for his first match at Old Trafford. Among the more intriguing is the use of Antony, an £85m failure of a winger, at wing-back, and the choice of Rasmus Hojlund, after Marcus Rashford was preferred in attack at Ipswich. It means Joshua Zirkzee is the third-choice striker, a damning indictment of a summer signing. Another thing to note is that Bodo/Glimt kick off above United in the Europa League table.
Team news – Manchester United
As promised, Ruben Amorim rotates in places in his Manchester United side. Tyrell Malacia makes a long-awaited return from injury while it also appears that Antony is primed for a wing-back role.
Manchester United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Antony, Ugarte, Mount, Malacia; Garnacho, Hojlund, Fernandes.
Manchester United fans plan protest over ‘offensive’ ticket price hike
Manchester United supporters are planning to stage a protest against ticket prices ahead of their Premier League match against Everton on Sunday after the club announced “offensive” plans to remove concession prices for the rest of this season.
The move will see ticket costs for members rise to £66 and has been criticised by supporters’ groups, with the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) warning that it may lead to a “significant price rise” for next season and expressing its disappointment at not being consulted over the change.
United and Everton fans will join together outside of Old Trafford in support of the Football Supporters’ Association’s (FSA’s) ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign’. Liverpool and Manchester City supporters will also display the banner ahead of their match at Anfield later that day.
Ruben Amorim to rotate Man Utd team to speed up implementation of new style
Ruben Amorim feels rotation over the next month will help speed up the process of Manchester United’s players becoming accustomed to his style of football.
Amorim started his tenure with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday where Marcus Rashford’s 81-second opener failed to inspire a triumphant debut for the former Sporting Lisbon boss.
Various principles of the 39-year-old were on display in Suffolk, with three centre-backs deployed alongside the use of wing-backs, but United were indebted to two excellent Andre Onana saves to claim a point.
Ruud van Nistelrooy leading the race to become new Leicester manager
The Dutchman appears set to replace Steve Cooper at the King Power Stadium following the Welshman’s sacking last weekend.
Van Nistelrooy has only been out of work a couple of weeks after leaving United after a four-game spell as interim manager, taking the reins after Erik ten Hag’s exit having joined in the summer as a coach.
Two of those four games were wins over Leicester in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
Man Utd will ‘suffer for a long period’ in bid to win games: Ruben Amorim
True cost of Manchester United redundancies revealed as revenue drops
Manchester United spent £8.6m restructuring and paying off the 250 members of staff who were sacked as Sir Jim Ratcliffe culled the number of employees at Old Trafford.
The costs – described in their first-quarter accounts as “restructuring of the group’s operations, including a redundancy scheme” – contributed to United making a £6.9m operating loss for the first three months of the financial year, though the club had a net profit of £1.4m.
United’s revenue was down £14m on the equivalent period last year, though the wage bill was also £10m lower.
Ruben Amorim explains key to getting Marcus Rashford back to his best: ‘He has to want it’
Amorim fielded Rashford as a striker at Portman Road and believes it was tough for him to compete with Ipswich’s tall centre-backs but thinks the 27-year-old’s attitude will be the key part if he is to return to his top levels.