What To Expect From Ruben Amorim's Manchester United?

Ruben Amorim’s managerial career started in the 2018/19 season when he took charge of Casa Pia in the third division of Portuguese football. After struggling in his first couple of games, Amorim switched to a back 3 system which allowed his team to play the brand of football he envisioned. He then moved on to become Braga’s B team boss in September 2019 before moving up and taking over as first-team manager just a few months later. His Braga tenure was also relatively short-lived as Sporting Lisbon came calling in March of 2020 and paid a hefty fee to secure his services. It paid off as he led Sporting to their first league title in 19 years in the 2020/21 campaign. He followed this up last season as the Portuguese side won a 2nd league title under his leadership. He also won a couple of league cups and a super cup during his time in charge.

Paying a hefty fee to secure Amorim’s services is something that The Red Devils have also done four years later. The Portuguese manager will likely set up in a 3-4-2-1 system or a 3-4-3. However, he has a flexible approach to management and will adapt his system and/or players depending on who the opponent is. He’ll be reunited with Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte at Old Trafford, Amorim is the manager who Ugarte has played the most games for in his young career thus far and he impressed enough to earn a big-money move to PSG under his tutelage.

So, what can we expect from Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United?

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side have the following stats in Liga Portugal this season so far:

• Total Shots per game - 23.4

• Shots on Target per game - 7.5

• Shots conceded per game - 6.2

• Dribbles per game - 12.8

• Possession per game - 65.8%

• Tackles per game - 14.0

• Interceptions per game - 5.6

• Fouls per game - 10.2

• Fouled per game - 12.9

68% of Sporting’s shots came from the middle of the pitch, with 18% from the left hand side and 14% from the right side. This is similar in terms of the shots they have conceded albeit on a much smaller scale. 66% of the shots they face come from the middle of the field, 18% from the left side and 16% from the right side.

In terms of shot zones, Sporting have 61% of their shots from inside the 18 yard box, 8% of efforts are in the 6 yard box and the remaining 31% are attempts from outside the area. The majority of the shots they’ve faced have came from outside the area (49%), with 44% coming from inside the 18 yard box and 7% from within the 6 yard box.

In all competitions, Sporting’s tackle averages slightly increase to 16 per game from their league average of 14. Sporting’s opponents have tackled them at an average of 19.53 per game.

Sporting have had 311 throw-ins in 17 games, an average of 18.294 per game. Their opponents have had 202 throw-ins in the same period, at an average of 11.882 per game. Sporting games are averaging 30.176 throw-ins so far this campaign.

Sporting have took 94 goal kicks in this sample size, an average of 5.529. Their opponents have took almost double this amount (176) which averages out at 10.352 goal-kicks per game. This totals 270 goal-kicks in total, an average of 15.882 per game.

The above article from the Premier League website has a possible XI for the Ipswich game. I personally think we may see Leny Yoro rather than Dalot in the back line and the starting wing-backs is all guesswork until Sunday afternoon. Tyrell Malacia has risen from the dead and is seen working hard in the training videos recently released. We can also see Antony in a right-wing back position during the aforementioned videos. Another possible redemption arc we may see is that of a certain Mason Mount. He’s heavily involved in the attacking work in training and it’s a possibility that Ruben Amorim could look to utilise the former Chelsea man in the same way that Thomas Tuchel did during his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

My best guess of Ruben Amorim’s first starting XI away to Ipswich this weekend on Super Sunday would be the following:

Andre Onana; Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez; Diogo Dalot, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, Noussair Mazraoui; Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Rasmus Hojlund.

There was probably similar hype surrounding Erik Ten Hag when he took charge of Manchester United, however, if Ruben Amorim isn’t a success then it’s probably time to put Old Trafford in the bin and start from scratch. Just start supporting FC United of Manchester and nomadic bagsman Adam Le Fondre instead.

Historical team data from Amorim’s three full seasons in charge are shown below. This is all available for free on the WhoScored website.

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side in 2023/24:

• Total Shots per game - 16.5

• Shots on Target per game - 6.4

• Shots conceded per game - 7.9

• Dribbles per game - 8.7

• Possession per game - 59.1%

• Tackles per game - 16.5

• Interceptions per game - 6.4

• Fouls per game - 11.6

• Fouled per game - 12.2

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side in 2022/23:

• Total Shots per game - 16.3

• Shots on Target per game - 6.0

• Shots conceded per game - 7.9

• Dribbles per game - 11.3

• Possession per game - 63.4%

• Tackles per game - 17.5

• Interceptions per game - 8.6

• Fouls per game - 12.5

• Fouled per game - 12.0

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side in 2021/22:

• Total Shots per game - 15.9

• Shots on Target per game - 6.1

• Shots conceded per game - 7.9

• Dribbles per game - 10.7

• Possession per game - 60.5%

• Tackles per game - 16.7

• Interceptions per game - 10.1

• Fouls per game - 13.9

• Fouled per game - 14.4