Ruben Amorim rules star defender out of Brentford clash, Man Utd boss focused on ‘saving’ players with eye on Europa League

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Ruben Amorim is not willing to take any risks with his team selection in Sunday’s Premier League clash against Brentford.

Manchester United beat Athletic Club 3-0 on Thursday night to put one foot in the final, which will take place on 21 May against either Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt.

Ruben Amorim and Harry Maguire echoed the same message after the win, that United still have a job to do in next week’s second leg at Old Trafford. The Europa League is the priority now because winning it would secure Champions League qualification.

However, United have four matches left to play in the Premier League.

The next one is against Brentford on Sunday. Amorim is expected to give minutes to some of his fringe players, including youngsters from United’s academy.

Amorim will still want to get a win at Brentford as that would help build momentum for United’s unbeaten run in Europe.

Noussair Mazraoui rested for Brentford clash

Amorim will definitely make changes to the team that beat Athletic Club on Thursday night.

With United sitting 14^th in the Premier League, it’s easy for outsiders to say United have nothing to play for – but there will be members of the squad trying to get into Amorim’s good books ahead of a potential Europa League final.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	BrentfordBrentford	34	14	7	13	58	50	8	49
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	34	11	12	11	43	47	-4	45
13	WolvesWolves	34	12	5	17	51	61	-10	41
14	Man UtdManchester United	34	10	9	15	39	47	-8	39
15	EvertonEverton	34	8	14	12	34	41	-7	38
16	TottenhamTottenham	34	11	4	19	62	56	6	37

United’s head coach has already confirmed that Noussair Mazraoui will get a rest after being withdrawn at San Mames Stadium.

Amorim will want to avoid any further injury setbacks after recently losing Diogo Dalot and Joshua Zirkzee for the remainder of the season.

“The first thing is that the players who are in risk to get injury will not play,” said Amorim at his pre-match press conference. “No matter what.

“We need to take a risk in [doing] that. And then we are going to assess tomorrow [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 pass so many things this year. It’s one more. Let’s see.”

Amorim added: “There are some positions that we don’t have more players. For example, Nous Mazraoui cannot play. He’s in the limit to get an injury.

“So we are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that they won today and is in a great moment. And we have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility to offer the result. But in this moment, we have to be clear. Our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive.

“It’s not a good thing to say, but we need to understand the context.”

Man Utd looking to build on record vs Brentford

The Red Devils can do the double over Brentford with a win on Sunday, despite the fact that Bournemouth are sitting closer to the top half of the table.

United beat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford earlier this season following goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund.

Furthermore, Brentford have won just one of their last 12 meetings with United in all competitions.

Brentford beat United 4-0 at home in August 2022.