Manchester United fans probably heard of this before, but the club has hired a new manager once again.
Ruben Amorim became the first official head coaching hire by INEOS. After days of anticipation, the former Sporting boss has finally arrived in Manchester to get himself acquainted with his new team.
Amorim faces the daunting task of sparking a turnaround in their fortunes because they’re at the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Elsewhere in North London, Arsenal and Tottenham’s midfields will undergo changes. The Gunners have their skipper back (and hopefully for good), while the Spurs will lose one of their underrated stars.
Check out the latest Premier League 2024 updates by continuing to read below.
Amorim introduces himself to Manchester United
Ruben Amorim has established himself as one of the brightest young managers in the world given his tenure at Sporting, so he is under pressure to replicate his success here in the English top-flight.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a successful four-year spell in charge of Sporting, as Amorim delivered two Primeira Liga and two Taca da Liga trophies and tallied a 71-per cent win rate through 231 matches (W164, D34, L33).
Amorim is famous for using a 3-4-3 formation in the majority of his matches. Manchester United haven’t done that in a while, so it’ll be interesting to see how the players will adjust to the new system.
Speaking of the players, Manchester United’s injury list is slowly easing up, as Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Leny Yoro, and Luke Shaw are closing in on returns, giving Amorim a huge boost.
However, Lisandro Martinez became the newest addition to the injury list after sustaining a hip injury against Leicester City on Sunday.
Before Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Carrington, Manchester United went on a four-game unbeaten run under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy (W3, D1), but the club decided against retaining the Dutchman since Amorim wanted to bring everyone from his coaching staff.
Amorim’s Manchester United tenure will start on Sunday when they take on Ipswich Town at Portman Road, and the SBOTOP Premier League 2024 odds have them as the favourites to win.
Odegaard is finally back in the mix for Arsenal
Arsenal have fallen to fourth place after going winless in their last four (D2, L2), and Martin Odegaard’s absence due to an ankle injury played a huge role in their slump.
The Norwegian playmaker came off the bench in Arsenal’s 1-0 Champions League defeat against Inter Milan and returned to the starting XI for the first time since August during their 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
Odegaard, despite not yet 100-per cent fit, gave the Gunners the lead in the hour mark by assisting on Gabriel Martinelli’s goal before Pedro Neto’s equaliser.
Martin Odegaard was supposed to report for the Norway national team this international break, but he decided on the last minute to withdraw since he said he needed to “listen to his body.”
“After discussions with the medical staff at the national team, we have unfortunately come to the conclusion that the situation is not good enough to play these games,” Odegaard said.
“I’ve been through a long training period, and when you haven’t practiced football in the last nine weeks, it’s natural not to be 100% yet. I need to listen to my body, complete this rehab process, and get my foot back in good shape.”
Martin Odegaard is not the only key Arsenal player who has pulled out from international duty this week, as Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice also did the same due to fitness concerns.
Saka and Rice were both subbed off against Chelsea, as the latter was playing through a broken toe and the former had a leg knock.
Tottenham suffer huge midfield blow
Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is expected to face a lengthy ban that will last up to seven English matches over an alleged racist remark about his teammate Heung-Min Son.
Bentancur was embroiled in controversy in June after saying that Koreans all “look the same” on a Uruguayan TV program. The 27-year-old apologised to Son, and the South Korean captain accepted his sorry.
Bentancur is set to miss the Premier League fixtures against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton, and Liverpool. He will also miss the EFL Cup quarter-finals match against Manchester United.
However, since his suspension is domestic, Bentancur should be able to play in the Europa League.
With Rodrigo Bentancur unavailable, Yves Bissouma and Archie Gray will vie for the vacant midfield spot in the starting XI.
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