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Manchester United host Chelsea in today’s late Premier League kick off with interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy still in charge despite the club hiring a new permanent manager in Ruben Amorim.
Amorim will take over at Old Trafford on November 11 as the full-time replacement for Erik ten Hag with Van Nistelrooy holding the reins until then. The Dutchman is keen to remain on the backroom staff when Amorim takes up his post and leading United to victory over Chelsea, backing up a 5-2 win over Leicester in the Carabao Cup, will do his credentials no harm.
Chelsea will be difficult opponents to beat though. Manager Enzo Maresca has high hopes this season and will be targeting the Champions League spots even though he has admitted the Chelsea higher-ups have not made that a goal this year. Chelsea defeated Newcastle in the league last Sunday and wil be confident of ending an 11-match winless run at United.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
Chelsea team news
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, meanwhile, are unchanged from the league win over Newcastle last weekend. Jadon Sancho is ineligble to face his parent club and has been struggling with illness, anyway.
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, James; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Harry Latham-Coyle3 November 2024 15:20
Manchester United team news
Ruud van Nistelrooy makes a single change to the side utilised by Erik ten Hag in his final Premier League fixture, bringing in Manuel Ugarte for Christian Eriksen in midfield.
Manchester United XI: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui; Ugarte, Casemiro; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
Harry Latham-Coyle3 November 2024 15:17
How Ruben Amorim will change Manchester United – starting with three things
Amorim took charge of Sporting CP in March 2020, as a 35-year-old coach with only two months’ experience managing in the Portuguese top flight. He inherited a giant club without a league title in 18 years, in disarray on and off the field after the exits of key players Raphinha, Bas Dost and Bruno Fernandes – ironically now set to be his captain at Old Trafford.
Amorim quickly set about imprinting his own football identity. In his first full season in charge, his young side set a league record 32-game unbeaten run on their way to winning the Primeira Liga, ending the long duopoly of Porto and Benfica. Sporting lost only one league game all season, against Benfica, after already securing the title.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 15:05
How the table looks
These two sides have had markedly different starts to the new campaign, with Chelsea showing signs of early promise as the reign of Enzo Maresca has begun.
The Italian has taken his side to sixth in the league before today’s match, though they could move as high as third today if they win (depending on the result of the match between Spurs and Villa at 2pm).
In contrast, United’s start to the season could hardly have gone much worse, as they sit 13th in the table with just 11 points from nine matches. The Red Devils could move into 10th if they were to win today (again depending on results elsewhere).
Incoming manager Rúben Amorim takes charge on 11 November, after United’s home game against Leicester City.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 15:00
Ruben Amorim emerged as only Man Utd candidate thanks to three clear reasons
United, who will have a club option to extend Amorim’s contract by a further year until 2028, believe they have appointed the most exciting young manager in Europe.
They have paid the £8.3m release clause to take him from Sporting, along with a further £850,000 to bring him in before the end of his 30-day notice period.
Amorim was United’s top target and the only candidate they spoke to after sacking Erik ten Hag on Monday, with a delegation from Old Trafford going immediately to Lisbon for face-to-face talks with Sporting.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 14:55
Sacked Erik ten Hag posts open letter to Manchester United fans as ‘dream comes to an end’
After a promising start, Ten Hag met the same fate as every other manager who has attempted to bring success back to Old Trafford after Ferguson, and he was sacked with the club 14th in the Premier League table and struggling on the pitch.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 14:50
Who is Ruben Amorim? Why Manchester United decided they had to have Sporting manager
Ruben Amorim is the next manager of Manchester United, with the 39-year-old set to finally take the next step in his coaching career after being linked with some of the biggest jobs in Europe as a result of his impressive work at Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese is in line to replace Erik ten Hag with United signalling their intent to pay Sporting over his release fee. United’s football operations department placed Amorim at the top of their list and have convinced the 39-year-old to leave Sporting mid-season.
United will appoint a manager who has been one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe over the last year.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 14:45
Predicted line-ups
Here are the potential line-ups – we’ll have the full team news around 3.15pm GMT.
Man Utd XI: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez; Ugarte, Casemiro; Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, James; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 14:40
Team news
On-loan winger Jadon Sancho is ineligible to face his parent club but was ill anyway, and Enzo Maresca has a fully fit squad to select from with Reece James and Wesley Fofana available to start.
Chelsea will revert to the team that started against Newcastle in the Premier League last weekend, rather than the side that went out of the Carabao Cup at St James’ Park in midweek.
Chris Wilson3 November 2024 14:35
