Manchester United could make £31m saving if Ruben Amorim finalises his strongest XI
When the teamsheets drop at the Etihad at 3.15pm on Sunday, Manchester United will likely have a deeper-looking bench. With only one senior player now out injured, Ruben Amorim has a strong squad to choose from.
The head coach has made rotation a theme of his tenure so far, and there will be changes from the team that started in Plzen in midweek. United's 23-man matchday squad in that Europa League fixture included 21 internationals, and Leny Yoro is clearly on his way to honours with France.
With only nine substitutes allowed in the Premier League, Toby Collyer is likely to make way. You would expect 19 of the 20 players named at City to be full internationals. The real intrigue will be who is on the bench.
It is a day for Amorim to name his strongest team and we might get an indicator of which players he thinks fit which roles best. Two starters likely to drop out from midweek are Casemiro and Marcus Rashford.
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The former is competing for a place in a strong area of the team, with only two deep midfield roles available. Manuel Ugarte is undoubtedly in Amorim's best team and Kobbie Mainoo is likely to start alongside him. Bruno Fernandes has also played the deeper role several times under the new head coach.
Rashford has two routes into the team, but so far, he has looked ill-suited for either role. His experiment as a No. 9 ended after one game, and the attacking roles behind a striker have also failed to get the best out of him recently. With many attacking options available, Rashford doesn't look like he figures in Amorim's best team


