The Manchester Derby may have lost its sense of glitz and glamour in recent years, not least for those of a Manchester United persuasion, although this is a fixture that has often provided a headline-grabbing moment.
Be it the image of Michael Owen tearing away in celebration, with a furious Mark Hughes watching on from the touchline. Be it Paul Scholes’ last-gasp header – and that subsequent Gary Neville kiss.
Be it even Amad Diallo lofting the ball over Ederson before squeezing home from the angle last season, sparking a rare highlight in an otherwise dour tenure for manager Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese coach – who has lost just once in five meetings with Pep Guardiola – is in need of similar magic on Sunday afternoon. That said, the Red Devils head to the Etihad to face a Manchester City side who are actually below them in the Premier League table.
The hosts are amid something of an injury crisis, although United have issues of their own…
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How do you solve a problem like Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount?
Yes, Amorim confirmed the frustrating news on Friday afternoon that both men will be absent for Sunday’s tussle, albeit while having failed to provide an update on just when the pair can be expected to return to action.
In the case of Cunha, the Brazilian was forced off on the hour mark in the most recent 3-2 win over Burnley, appearing to pull his hamstring just days after playing the full 90 minutes in the drab penalty shootout defeat to Grimsby.
The other part of a fluid forward line in the early weeks of the season, excluding fellow new recruit Bryan Mbeumo, had been Mount, with the Englishman notably starting the first three league games of the campaign. For context, he started just eight top-flight games in total last term, and only five the year prior.
Unfortunately for United’s number seven, he too was withdrawn against the Clarets in what looked to be a cautionary move, although the news of his confirmed absence marks yet another setback in his stop-start Old Trafford career. Indeed, it was the Etihad which halted his early progress under Amorim back in December.
Usual ever-present Diogo Dalot has also been ruled out after sustaining a muscular injury during the international break, yet the major concern is likely to be how to reconfigure the forward line in Cunha and Mount’s absence.
How Amorim can replace Cunha and Mount
With Dalot forced to watch on from the sidelines, the expectation would be for Patrick Dorgu to slot in at left wing-back, while a decision will need to be made on either the returning Noussair Mazraoui or the aforementioned Amad on the opposite flank.
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The sensible selection might well be to propel the Ivorian speedster back into the forward line, having thus far looked somewhat uncomfortable operating as a right-wing back.
Indeed, both he and Mbeumo have looked to operate in similar areas, a fact showcased none more so than on the opening day against Arsenal, as they got in each other’s way inside the area.
Amorim may be better served utilising Amad as one of the two number tens, with Mbeumo in a false nine role, then leaving the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes as an option to fill the remaining void.
Benjamin Sesko, of course, may be in the equation, although with the Slovenian yet to fire in his embryonic United career, it could be viewed as too much of a gamble to unleash him from the off.
GK
Altay Bayindir*
RCB
Leny Yoro
CB
Matthijs de Ligt
LCB
Luke Shaw
RWB
Noussair Mazraoui
CM
Kobbie Mainoo
CM
Casemiro
LWB
Patrick Dorgu
RAM
Amad
LAM
Bruno Fernandes (C)
ST
Bryan Mbeumo
*confirmed to start
The former RB Leipzig man is a risky inclusion, although in Amad, Amorim knows what he’s getting, having seen the best of the diminutive left footer against City last season.
Having first won the penalty after cleverly drawing a foul from Matheus Nunes late on in that 2-1 victory, the £37m signing then produced a moment of magic to complete the comeback, having latched onto Lisandro Martinez’s ball before, well, you know the rest.
Following that statement performance, the 23-year-old drew notable plaudits from a certain Gary Neville watching on, with the United legend even drawing comparisons between the winger and the great Wayne Rooney, due to the pair’s street footballer vibe:
“A lof of people hide behind the excuses… but he still plays football like he’s a kid. He has never stopped thinking of football like he’s playing on the street. Wayne Rooney was the exact same.
‘They are street football players and they believe they should get it and beat men and attack men and take the ball and take risks and he did all the way through the game.”
Such praise has also been followed up by Rooney’s former teammate Louis Saha, with the Frenchman noting that Amad has “the same dedication” and “the same desire” as the likes of ‘Wazza’, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs.
Rooney at his pomp was simply a menace in the derby, not just for that overhead kick stunner, having scored 12 times in 31 career meetings with the Etihad side, as per Transfermarkt.
Like a rampaging bull leading the line, the ex-England skipper appeared to relish the big occasion. On the evidence of the last few seasons, so too does Amad.
And so, with the wing-back experiment yet to take off, and with both Cunha and Mount in need of replacing, Amorim surely must turn to the former Atalanta starlet to provide that relentless, Rooney-esque fight from the front.