Amorim Set to Give Youth Opportunities as United Eyes European Glory

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim plans to rotate his squad for the Premier League match against Brentford, prioritizing the Europa League semi-final against Athletic Club.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim plans to rotate his squad for Sunday's Premier League match against Brentford, prioritizing the Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club on Thursday. United holds a 3-0 advantage from the first leg and Amorim emphasized that Europe is the main focus, given the team's league struggles. Amorim stated he won't take any risks with players' fitness, indicating changes to the lineup to ensure key players are fresh for the crucial European tie.

“The first thing is that the players who are at risk to get injured will not play, no matter what,” Amorim told reporters after the victory. “And then we are going to assess (on Friday) and the next day, who are the best players to start the game.

“Then we have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game. So the process is going to be like that. It's going to be tough, but we passed so many things this year. It's one more. Let's see.”

Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui will miss Sunday's match against Brentford due to fatigue concerns, with manager Ruben Amorim citing the defender's risk of injury. Amorim is expected to rotate the squad, potentially giving opportunities to young players like Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson, Jaydan Kamason, and others who traveled to Spain for the Europa League match. The team saw promising returns from Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt on Thursday, but Amorim's priority remains the Europa League semi-final against Athletic Club.

Ruben Amorim praised Amad Diallo's return as “massive,” highlighting the winger's unique attacking threat. Diallo, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury since February, came on in the 84th minute against Athletic Club. Amorim noted Diallo's importance before the injury, saying, “It was really tough on us because in that moment, (Diallo) was the player that created all the situations and then passed a little bit for Bruno (Fernandes).”

ℹ️ In case you missed it, Nous has been ruled out of Sunday's game due to injury.#MUFC || #PL

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 3, 2025

"So to lose a player like that in that moment with a lot of games was really hard for us and especially for Amad because he was leaving (us at) a good moment.

“But now he's returning. You can feel that he's not so explosive in the moment, but he's a player with a characteristic left foot, different from (Alejandro) Garnacho, that has one against one. And we don't have many players to do that. So it's massive for us. And he's one more option to play.”

🆚🐝🔜#MUFC || @Betfred pic.twitter.com/dVL8xItYXa

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 3, 2025