Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim warns of a “roller coaster” as the club’s stormy rebuild attempt continues.
WHO: Manchester United vs Brighton
What: English Premier League
Or: Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom
When: 2:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) Sunday
Follow Al Jazeera’s live build-up, followed by our text and photo feed of the match.
Ruben Amorim has warned Manchester United’s season will continue to be a rollercoaster as players learn to adapt to his system after a dramatic 3-1 win over Southampton.
Premier League basement club Southampton were on the verge of a shock victory at Old Trafford on Thursday before Amad Diallo scored a stunning 12-minute hat-trick to turn the game around.
That followed a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Liverpool and a morale-boosting FA Cup win over Arsenal.
Amorim, who succeeded Erik ten Hag, who was sacked in November, had previously warned that a “storm was going to break” ahead of a run of six defeats in eight matches.
Aged 22 years and 189 days, Amad became Man Utd’s youngest ever goalscorer at Old Trafford in the Premier League ✨ pic.twitter.com/Bmd1a6CXfd
–Premierleague (@premierleague) January 16, 2025
The 39-year-old Portuguese boss predicts more turmoil after the poor performance against the struggling Saints. Despite this victory, United, who host Brighton on Sunday, are still languishing in 12th place in the Premier League table.
“I think it’s going to be difficult until the end of the season,” Amorim said. “It’s going to be a bit of a roller coaster. Then it depends on how much time you have to practice. We are still in the [FA] Cup and we have UEFA matches for the Europa League.
“So it’s also important to focus on next Thursday [when Scottish giants Rangers visit Old Trafford] win and try to get into that top eight.
He added: “We had seven practices together in 14, 15 games. It’s really hard, but we have to keep going and try to win. Sometimes I play well, sometimes I play bad.
The man of the moment 🏆⚽️
🫶 @Amaddiallo_19 #MUFC || #MUNSOU pic.twitter.com/5YTq79IL6U
–Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 16, 2025
Amorim admitted his team did not play well against Southampton and said several players were tired, including Manuel Ugarte, whose own goal late in the first half gave the visitors the lead.
“You [the media] are focused on what I said about Ugarte,” he said. “Ugarte was tired because he did a great job against Liverpool.
“If you watch the game against Arsenal, maybe Ugarte and Bruno [Fernandes] were the best players against Liverpool.
“They didn’t play Newcastle. I think it happens to every Premier League player.
Manchester United team news
Diogo Dalot returns from a one-match suspension, but Mason Mount and Luke Shaw remain out through injury.
The midfield could give Amorim pause with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte both replaced against Southampton due to fatigue.
Brighton team news
Former Manchester City midfielder James Milner is out due to injury. Ferdi Kadioglu is also sidelined with a knock, but Georginio Rutter could return to the starting XI after scoring a goal as a substitute at Ipswich.
Face to face
Brighton will become only the second team to win three consecutive Premier League away matches against Manchester United if they claim all three points on Sunday.
The other team to achieve this is Manchester City, who have achieved the feat twice.
It has been an overall positive run for the Seagulls, who have won five of their last six matches against the Red Devils.
