Manchester United will begin their defence of the FA Cup with an arduous away test against Arsenal on Sunday with Ruben Amorim hoping to see more of the same intensity that his team displayed last week against Liverpool in the league.
The head coach has already revealed that backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir is expected to start in goal ahead of No 1 Andre Onana, despite his calamitous error against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The game at the Emirates comes at the right time for the Red Devils with the Gunners failing to win their last two games while they will be without talisman, Bukayo Saka.
However, Amorim has injury problems of his own with Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount all ruled out of the contest.
Injury update
However, the biggest blow for the head coach would be if Amad Diallo fails to recover in time from a knock. The Ivorian has been one of the few standouts in what has been a hugely disappointing campaign so far.
The 22-year-old has six goals and seven assists this term, and has come up clutch in the big games with away goals against both Manchester City and Liverpool.
Amorim will need Amad in top form if the 20-time English league champions are to progress deeper into the competition and hopefully, the versatile forward can recover from his knock.
“Vic (Victor Lindelof) continues to be out, Jonny (Evans) continues to be out,” Amorim told club media. “Amad has a little injury but I think he can recover.
Amad yet to recover
“Luke Shaw continues his improvement, Mason Mount also. The rest are strong to compete for a place and to play again.”
Amad recently signed a contract extension with the club which will see him stay at Old Trafford until 2030, just reward for the progress he has shown since the end of last season.
It is testament to his resilience that despite unfairly being overlooked by former boss Erik ten Hag, the Ivory Coast international has come out all guns blazing under the new head coach and has become an undisputed starter.
In fact, while the club has started mulling over selling wonderkids like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho to steer clear of PSR concerns, Amad has been classified as untouchable, such is his importance to Amorim’s plans.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
