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š§ Rubens At The Wheel & Pogba's New Club š
We look ahead to Ruben Amorim's first game in charge of Manchester United and look at how his tactical approach could change United's fortunes.
George Hudson
November 20, 2024 ā¢ Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes
After a pretty uneventful international break, club football is back and we have you covered with the latest football news and the biggest games to keep an eye on. This week weāre looking at how Ruben Amorimās tactical approach could turn around Man Unitedās inconsistent Premier League season.
Weāve also picked out the biggest games from around Europeās top leagues, including Barcelona, Juve and a faltering Manchester City.
Youāll also not want to miss our goal of the week, featuring an Argentinian striker at the top of his game, and this weekās shocker which could see an ex-Man United reunion in the south of Franceā¦
Today's game plan:
Ipswich vs Manchester United | Sunday | 16:30 GMT
The late kick-off on Sunday gives us an intrigui9ng fixture, mainly because this will be the introduction of Manchester Unitedās new head coach, Ruben Amorim.
Although club legend Ruud Van Nistelrooy steadied the ship, these United players are still all over the place in the league. Pressure, emotions, media interest and intense managers seem to unsettle many of the players in this United dressing room, and the lacklustre performances this season are evidence that this team hasnāt turned a corner. But, a new manager often brings the best out of players who are eager to please and make a claim for a new contract and claim their place in the new managers system.
Form & Team News
Ipswich Town are managed by Kieran McKenna, a former Manchester United coach who led the under 18s and then worked under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Since taking over as manager at Ipswich Town, he has led the club on a steady progression, being promoted from League 1 up to the Championship, and then to the Premier League in the space of 3 seasons!
Since getting Ipswich back into the Premier League, theyāve been on a tough run and results have been hard to come by. Ipswich sit in 17th, just one point above the relegation zone, with 8 points from their first 11 matches.
Despite the early struggles, Ipswich put in some big performances before the international break including a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and a confidence-boosting 2-1 win over Tottenham. The win over Spurs was the clubās first victory in the league this season and ended a tough winless run.
Ipswich have one confirmed injury, Chiedozie Ogbene, is out for the rest of the season after having to get surjey on his achilles tendon. Wes Burns, Jacob Greaves, Nathan Broadhead, and Jack Taylor all face late fitness tests before Sundayās game. The good news for the Tractor Boys is that Kalvin Phillips will return to the squad after serving his 1-match suspension for the red card he picked up in the 1-1 draw with Leicester.
Keep an eye on attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics and striker Liam Delap, probably the most talented players in this Ipswich team.
GR Ipswich Town predicted lineup | Muric, Tuanzebe, Johnson, OāShea, Burgess, Davis, Cajuste, Morsy, Hutchinson, Szmodics, Delap
Ruben Amorim takes over a Manchester United side that sit 13th in the league with 15 points from 11 games. This is Unitedās worst league start in decades, so luckily for Amorim the only way is up, right?
Despite the poor performances in the Premier League and Europe, United come into this game with some momentum. Under Ruud Van Nistelrooy, United went unbeaten in four games across all competitions, including an impressive 3-0 league victory over Leicester, thanks in large part to a sensational individual performance from Bruno Fernandes.
Looking at the league record, Unitedās away form has been a problem this season. Theyāve managed just one win in their last six Premier League away matches, often struggling to finish teams or conceding 2nd-half goals when put under consistent pressure.
But with his tactical awareness and emphasis on a team working as a unit, Amorim may have the the answers to Unitedās problems. The Portuguese manager is renowned for his 3-4-2-1 system, which emphasises high pressing and quick transitions.
If Amorim can coach these United players and get them to learn his system, he could be the man who is able to develop a style of play and inject some consistency into a team that has looked unrecognisable from one game to the next.
Over the international break, United received fresh injury news to defensive players. Harry Maguire is still out with a muscle injury, while Lisandro MartĆnez is doubtful after a back injury. Victor Lindelƶfās picked up a hamstring injury whilst on international duty with Sweden and is unlikely to make the squad for the game on Sunday.
Given Unitedās injury issues at the back, Amorimās defensive organisation will be key and there has been talk of him using Antony as a wing-back in his system. The positive news for United is that Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Leny Yoro have returned to full training and may feature on Sunday.
GR Manchester United predicted lineup | Onana, de Ligt, Evans, Yoro, Dalot, Casemiro, Ugarte, Malacia, Fernandes, Rashford, HĆøjlund
Whilst waiting for Sundayās game, enjoy these classic highlights from Unitedās biggest Premier league win. A 9-nil win over Ipswich Town back in 1995, with 5 goal;s from Andy Cole.
This Weekās Shockerā¦
The shocker this week are the rumours that Paul Pogba is aiming to return to top flight football with Marseille. Weāve said it a few times this season, but De Zerbi is building something special in the south of France.
Around the worldā¦
There have been a couple of big managerial appointments over in Serie A. The Roma board were able to convince Claudio Ranieri to come out of retirement and take on what will be a very difficult job āthis Roma side have just 13 points, and the first game in charge for Ranieri is against league leader Napoli next Monday.
The other notable appointment was further north, in Genoa where Patrick Viera will make his return to management. Viera will link up with wildcard Mario Balotelli, a player who he played alongside at Man City and managed at Nice.
The English FA has banned the Uruguay and Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for seven domestic matches for making what they deemed to be a racist comment about his Tottenham teammate, Son Heung-min.
The incident happened in Uruguay back in June when, during a TV interview, Bentancur was asked to donate a shirt belonging to one his Spurs teammates. āSonnyās?ā Bentancur replied ā āIt could be Sonnyās cousin too as they all look the same.ā
Lyon currently sit in 5th place in Ligue 1, and are playing well but they have got themselves into trouble with French financial fair play rules. Lyon have been hit with a transfer ban and may be relegated to the second tier of French football at the end of the 2024/25 season if they canāt fix their financial irregularities.
Lyon are owned by American businessman John Textor, who also has stakes in Premier League team Crystal Palace and Brazilās Botafogo. Lyon are reported to have debts of over ā¬505 million, and may have to sell off a bunch of their star players. Clubs will be sniffing around for deals when the January transfer window opens, with Rayan Cherki the main target of interest.
Al-Hilal are still leading the race on 28 points, but Al-Ittihad have rediced the gap to just 1 point after going on a 6-game win streak! With 3 more RSL fixtures to go before trhe mid-season break, it will be fascinating to see which team is leading the title race. Can Al-Ittihad dethrone the reigning champions Al-Hilal?
The ex-pro footballer who played for clubs like Inter, Villareal, and Atletico Madrid as well as for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, made his professional tennis debut in a doubles match at the Uruguay Open. Now 45 years old, Forlan retired from football five years ago. His tennis debut ended in defeat in the first round of the ATP Challenger Tour event, a tournament that is one rung below the main ATP Tour.
Games to keep an eye onā¦
Bayern Munich vs Augsburg | Friday | 19:30 GMT
Bayern Munich host Augsburg in this Bavarian derby which kicks-off the Bundesliga this weekend. Bayern are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga, 5 points ahead of RB Leipzig, whilst Augsburg are in the lower half of the table. Bayern will look to their firepower to steamroll Augsburg, but this Augsburg team usually set up to counterattack, giving this derby the potential for an upset.
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest | Saturday | 15:00 GMT
Arsenal welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates as the Gunners look to get their Premier League season back on track. Arsenal sit in 4th place, but have only won 1 of their last 5 league games -that was a 3-1 win over Southampton way back at the start of October!
Forest have been this seasonās surprise package and, having only lost 2 of their 11 games, they currently sit in 5th place in the Premier League. getting a result at the Emirates is a steep ask for this Forest team though.
Manchester City vs Tottenham | Saturday | 17:30 GMT
The 5.30 kick-off at the Etihad is a must-watch. The recent news is that Pep Guardiola has signed a 1-year contract extension, but what everyone is talking about is whether City will lose their 3rd league game in a row?
City need a win to close the 5-point gap to Liverpool, whilst Tottenham and their fans are just looking for a decent performance. Ange Postecoglouās high-tempo philosophy, does guarantee a spectacle, but this Spurs team arenāt consistent. They have fallen into a pettern of win, lose, win, lose. But regardless of tactics and motivations, this should be an entertaining game full of technical, attacking play.
AC Milan vs Juventus | Saturday | 17:00 GMT
One of Serie Aās classic rivalries, as AC Milan take on Juventus at the famous San Siro. Thereās plenty of history and prestigeattached to this fixture, but looking at these teamsā performances this season, this game might not be full of quality.
Juve are in 6th place, and Milan are in 7th. Itās true weāre not halfway into the season yet, but these two big teams could be battling for 6th place and the Europa Conference League qualifying spot!
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona | Saturday | 20:00 GMT
Barca lost their last game in La Liga, going down 1-nil away to Real Sociedad. It was the second time Barca have lost this season, but they are still 6 points clear of Real Madrid, although Ancelottiās men have a game in hand. If Barca drop points in this one to mid-table Celta, the race for La Liga is well and truly back on.
GOAT Triviaā¦
Say congrats toā¦
Dusan tadic [@DT10_Official], the Serbian who played for Ajax and Southampton turned 36 today and currently plays his football in the Turkish SĆ¼per Lig for FenerbahƧe.
On this day in footballā¦
Back in 2022, the FIFA World Cup was hosted in Qatar. This was the first time the tournament was held in the Middle East and the first time the tournament kicked-off in November.
Typically, the World Cup is played in the summer months during the off season. Interestingly, and despite fears that the high temperatures would lead to a low-quality of football, the 2022 World Cup was extremely entertaining. The top players turned up fit, sharp and not showing signs of fatigue which has sometimes been an issue with major international tournaments that take place at the end of long club seasons.
Goal of the weekā¦
Andy Robertsonās thumping header in Scotlandās win over Poland was a belter, but our goal of the week was scored in Argentina in the World Cup qualifiers.
Lautaro Martinez hit a volley with a technique that you donāt see very often, clinching a crucial 1-nil win for Argentina over Peru.
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