90min
·28. November 2024
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Yahoo sports90min
·28. November 2024
Ruben Amorim takes charge of his second Manchester United match and first in front of the Old Trafford faithful on Thursday evening as Bodo/Glimt visit England in the Europa League.
The Red Devils hardly made the dream start to Amorim's reign on Sunday, stumbling to a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in which they were left grateful for the reflexes of Andre Onana. The Portuguese now understands the scale of task facing him as Man Utd head coach.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's brief spell as interim manager saw United win their first Europa League encounter of the season as they downed PAOK at Old Trafford. Previously, the Reds Devils had drawn all three of their opening league phase clashes.
Amorim will be eager to avoid an upset against Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening. The Eliteserien side, who beat former United boss Jose Mourinho and his Roma team 6-1 in 2021, follow their trip to England with the final day of their league campaign on Sunday. Bodo/Glimt only need to beat Lillestrom at home to secure the title.
Here is 90min's guide to Amorim's first Old Trafford experience.
This is the first competitive fixture between Man Utd and Bodo/Glimt.
Amorim experimented with three at the back against Ipswich / Richard Pelham/GettyImages
Amorim is still assessing his squad at the beginning of a new era but he was able to welcome Luke Shaw and Mason Mount back from injury at the weekend. The duo made appearances from the bench, with the former earning his first minutes of 2024/25.
Tyrell Malacia and Kobbie Mainoo were both unused substitutes at Portman Road, making their returns to the matchday squad after spells on the sidelines. Malacia has been missing since the 2022/23 campaign.
However, centre-backs Victor Lindelof, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire were all absent as Amorim experimented with a 3-4-2-1 formation similar to that he played at Sporting CP. The good news is that Martinez is available for Thursday's clash, but Jonny Evans was absent from training on Wednesday.
Amorim is likely to use the same formation against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday and could name a similar lineup to his opening match. Marcus Rashford scored while leading the line and could start ahead of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, while Amad Diallo prospered in a right midfield/wing-back function.
Man Utd predicted lineup vs Bodo/Glimt (3-4-2-1): Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Diallo, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dalot; Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
Kjetil Knutsen will have one eye on the weekend / Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages
Kjetil Knutsen may be tempted to rest some of his first-team stars ahead of a crucial clash against Lillestrom at the weekend. With Brann only a point behind them in the Eliteserien, only a win will guarantee Bodo/Glimt a second successive title and fourth in five years.
Bodo/Glimt will almost certainly be without Samuel Burakovsky, Syver Skeide and Gaute Vetti for the trip to Old Trafford, with Knutsen facing a big call on his team selection elsewhere ahead of Sunday's gargantuan encounter with already relegated Lillestrom.
Former Manchester City academy product Omar Elabdellaoui is ineligible to feature, while Daniel Bassi, Runar Espejord and Nino Zugelj are not included in Bodo/Glimt's Europa League squad.
Bodo/Glimt predicted lineup vs Man Utd (4-3-3): Haikin; Sjovold, Bjortuft, Nielsen, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Saltnes; Zinckernagel, Hogh, Hauge.
Amorim will want to deliver a strong message to the Old Trafford crowd on Thursday and a home meeting with Bodo/Glimt offers the opportunity to do exactly that. It's an enormous fixture for the Norwegian outfit but their title aspirations mean one eye may be on the weekend.
It will be intriguing to see what changes - if any - Amorim makes from Sunday's draw with Ipswich but it will takes time for his new-look side to take shape, especially given the alterations to tactical approach and formation.
Still, United should build on their 2-0 victory over PAOK last time out in the Europa League and leapfrog Bodo/Glimt in the table with a convincing win.