Ruben Amorim has perfect chance to show he's fixed Man United problem he identified in December

"Everybody is so anxious."

That was Ruben Amorim's succinct and accurate assessment of Old Trafford after Manchester United suffered another humiliating home defeat towards the end of 2024. It was delivered after losing 3-0 to Bournemouth just before Christmas, but things got worse a week later when Newcastle cruised to victory.

That night, Joshua Zirkzee was booed off, and mutiny threatened to rain down from the stands. It was a cruise for Eddie Howe's side and another reminder that playing at Old Trafford now holds more challenges for United than it does for the opposition.

The defeat to Newcastle was the third at home in the Premier League in December, with Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Newcastle scoring eight goals in the process. After a run of dismal home defeats last season as well, it was clear the pressure was weighing down on United in front of their own fans, something Amorim touched on as well.

"At this moment, in our club, everybody is tired of this moment," he said after that Bournemouth defeat. "We know what to do, we have to address a lot of things but we are ready to do it. We already knew it, we knew the challenge is big."

Things didn't improve immediately and Brighton and Crystal Palace have won at Old Trafford in 2025, but fixing United's home form was always going to be a big part of the challenge for the Portuguese head coach.

It's not there yet and only a month ago Fulham won on penalties in front of the Stretford End to dump United out of the FA Cup, but maybe there are signs that home form is getting better.

They showed character to come from behind to beat Leicester City and Ipswich and although the first half against Arsenal was soporific until Bruno Fernandes scored, the second half was