Van Nistelrooy has pledged to maintain the winning sequence before the Amorim succession, and he has predicted that Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro will return in a 3-4-3 formation against Leicester.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will assume the role of interim manager for Manchester United for the fourth and final occasion on Sunday afternoon, when the Red Devils face Leicester City in the Premier League at Old Trafford.
The Foxes were able to salvage a point from a 1-1 stalemate with Ipswich Town, while the Dutchman supervised a 2-0 Europa League victory over PAOK in the previous week.
Preview of the match
On Thursday evening, Man United initially encountered difficulty in unlocking PAOK’s defence under the vigilant eye of Ruben Amorim, who will relocate to his Carrington office during the international break. However, the Greek heavyweights were ultimately defeated by a dose of Amad Diallo’s inspiration.
The Ivorian attacker’s acrobatic header found the far side of the net after a goalless first 45 minutes at Old Trafford. Subsequently, he cut inside on his left foot and found the far corner in a manner that would have proudly impressed Arjen Robben and Mohamed Salah.
Diallo’s double not only extended Van Nistelrooy’s interim managerial streak to three matches, but also propelled Man United to their first Europa League victory of the season at the fourth try. However, the Red Devils are now prioritising Premier League affairs once more.
The bottom-half strugglers, Man United, are currently in 13th place in the Premier League table, despite being mathematically closer to the top four than the relegation zone. This was due to a spectacular Moises Caicedo volley that caused them to accept only one point against Chelsea in the 1-1 draw last weekend.
The meagre record of only one victory in six Premier League games suggests that Amorim will be unable to immediately turn around Man United’s fortunes. This is further compounded by the fact that the Red Devils have only scored nine top-flight goals thus far this season, their lowest total since 1973-74.
At Portman Road, Leicester attacker Jordan Ayew’s goal-bound strike was obstructed by Ipswich’s Cameron Burgess, and it appeared that the Foxes would not have a successful match against the Tractor Boys. The Tractor Boys were leading deep into added time due to Leif Davis’s beautiful strike.
Nevertheless, Ayew decisively turned the tide against Kieran McKenna’s winless team by forming a partnership with Jamie Vardy and then confidently scoring into the bottom corner to secure a portion of the profits for Steve Cooper’s team. This victory ended their two-game losing streak in all tournaments.
Leicester have established themselves in a partially comfortable 15th position in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone and just two points behind Sunday’s hosts, Man United, as fellow newly-promoted teams Ipswich and Southampton remain below the infamous dotted line.
Consequently, Leicester will surpass the Red Devils in the rankings with a surprising victory at Old Trafford, where both teams are expected to score. This is due to the fact that Leicester have scored and conceded in all five of their Premier League away games during the 2024-25 season.
The same was true in the EFL Cup match between Man United and Leicester at Old Trafford on October 30. However, the Red Devils scored five of the seven goals in Van Nistelrooy’s debut match. This was the first time since January 1998 that the hosts failed to breach the net against the Foxes in a Premier League contest.
Despite Diallo’s brace in Man United’s victory over PAOK, the former Atalanta BC attacker sustained an injury late in the game and is now considered a slight concern for the upcoming match against Leicester. It is possible that he was expecting to start the match.
Luke Shaw (calf), Harry Maguire (calf), Kobbie Mainoo (thigh), Tyrell Malacia (knee), and Leny Yoro (foot) are all present in the medical ward with Diallo. Yoro has resumed training, but he will be granted sufficient time to regain his complete fitness.
Before Amorim implements his 3-4-3 system, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt should return to the centre of the backline at the expense of Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof, while Marcus Rashford should benefit from Diallo’s injury.
In contrast, Leicester emerged unscathed from their muscular encounter with Ipswich. There is a remote possibility that Patson Daka, who has been sidelined for an extended period due to an ankle injury, will make his return in Sunday’s match, as well as Bobby Decordova-Reid, who sustained a “nasty wound” during the EFL Cup defeat.
Hamza Choudhury is also experiencing the same issue, as the Foxes have elected not to pursue surgical intervention for the midfielder’s shoulder injury. Consequently, Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle) may be the sole visitor who is unable to appear this weekend.
It is uncertain whether Ayew’s final-minute intercession at Portman Road will suffice to secure a return to the first XI, as Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi pose formidable competition. However, Vardy will undoubtedly be deployed in the attacking position, as he endeavours to augment his six goals from 18 previous matches against Manchester United.
Manchester United’s potential starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui; Casemiro, Ugarte; Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
Leicester City’s potential starting lineup:
Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Soumare, Winks; Fatawu, Buonanotte, Ayew; Vardy
