Today is the final page in this chapter of Manchester United’s history before they turn a new leaf with Ruben Amorim’s official start date tomorrow.
Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has presided over a creditable two wins and a draw but United are still in the bottom half of the Premier League, with three wins in 10.
Van Nistelrooy will take charge at Old Trafford for the fourth and final time today against 15th-placed Leicester City. Leicester are only two points behind United and have tallied five more goals. Here are five things to look out for:
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Will Amad make it?
The United medical staff were still working on Amad as of Friday in an attempt to get him fit for today. The winger was barefoot during the lap of honour after the final whistle on Thursday night and stressed in the mixed zone he was “fine”.
If he is not deemed fit enough to keep his place, then Marcus Rashford will be back in. Antony, fit again and unused against PAOK, has started one game all season.
Farewell, but not goodbye?
Van Nistelrooy’s body language will be scrutinised at full-time. He has savoured these two weeks, whether it be conducting himself warmly during press conferences, engaging with the matchgoers or advising the players from the technical area and restoring confidence to the dressing room.
He was already fondly thought of by proper United supporters and he will have gone up in their estimation during this brief interim stint. Many will hope he is still in the dugout next to Amorim at Portman Road in two weeks.
Changes in defence?
United kept a clean sheet with their main centre halves on the bench for the majority of the 2-0 defeat of PAOK. Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are expected to return to the line-up today, with Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui continuing at full back.
Dalot earned a breather when he came off just after the hour against PAOK, having struggled on his return to left back. Amad’s inclusion seemed to have a bearing on Van Nistelrooy’s decision to switch the full backs after Mazraoui impressed at left back against Chelsea.
Different Leicester, same United?
Leicester coach Steve Cooper oddly opined the atmosphere “wasn’t what we were expecting. It wasn’t intimidating at all. It was good to play in” after Leicester visited Old Trafford last week.
It was never going to be intimidating in a League Cup tie against Leicester’s reserves, particularly when Leicester took a fraction of their ticketing allocation. And it could not have been that “good to play in” as Leicester were thumped 5-2.
Few of the Foxes’ starters will retain their place this afternoon and Van Nistelrooy’s caretaker shift will be remembered more for this fixture than last week’s.
Who will get the goals (if any)?
For all the pretentious intellecutalising in football with its pseudo intellectuals and underlying stats guff, it is a simple game. United are not winning many games because they do not have a player who scores goals consistently.
Rasmus Hojlund has regressed so much of late you wonder whether the players are consciously avoiding passing the ball to him again. The alternative is Joshua Zirkzee, whose only goal was on his debut.
Amad got two against PAOK but Alejandro Garnacho’s form is in danger of becoming a slump, Rashford is without a goal in seven matches and Bruno Fernandes only started scoring again last week.
“I agree that when you want to be a successful side in the Premier League and in Europe – that’s what the build is all about – you’re going to need a certain amount of goals,” Van Nistelrooy said on Friday. Hojlund or Zirkzee need to start showing they belong at the club.
