Manchester United welcome Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday in Ruben Amorim’s first home match, having kicked off his reign with a draw
Defenders Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire are both back in training at Manchester United in a major boost for Ruben Amorim.
Maguire hasn’t featured since a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa last month, while Martinez came off with a knock during United’s 3-0 win over Leicester on November 10. The Red Devils are in Europa League action on Thursday at Old Trafford, with the visit of Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt marking new boss Amorim’s first home game in charge.
United drew 1-1 away to Ipswich Town on Sunday, with Marcus Rashford’s early goal being cancelled out by Omari Hutchinson’s long-range strike. Amorim and Co. are now desperate for just their second victory in Europe this season, having drawn their opening three games before interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy led them to a 2-0 win against PAOK Thessaloniki earlier this month.
Martinez and Maguire’s availability would give Amorim more options in defence, having started with a back three of Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Jonny Evans on Sunday. The Portuguese coach in insistent on using his 3-4-3 formation which brought him success at Sporting Lisbon.
United had significant teething problems with Amorim’s system at Ipswich, part of which he blamed on their fitness. “They are very good players, but we have to improve physically, technically and tactically, and we need time to do that,” the 39-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If you go to every top player who have had tough moments then it is normal [to forget how good they are]. When they feel fine with the new idea they will feel better for sure.”
Amorim, who was chosen to replace Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout, went on to say: “I think we have to understand and think and be pragmatic that these guys had two to three days to train to change so much. It’s hard for the players in three days to cope with everything.
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“I know it’s frustrating for the fans, but we are changing so much in this moment with a lot of games. We are going to suffer for a long period and we will try to win games, but this will take time.”
Maguire and Martinez could get the nod alongside a blend of fringe players and regular starters against Bodo/Glimt. “Everybody has to play with this schedule and we will do that.” Amorim added on Sunday. “Everybody is going to play… We have to, all together, try to find ways to win games, to win time and to improve the team.”
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