Manchester United are unlikely to have any players back from injury for their derby showdown with Leeds United this afternoon.
Injuries have worsened just as Ruben Amorim is dealing with the absences of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui who are all away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Bruno Fernandes remains sidelined with a hamstring injury picked up in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
The captain has already been pestering his manager over a return but Amorim has insisted he will be taking no chances.
Fernandes’ issue was expected to keep him out of action for a month, ruling him out today and leaving him a doubts for Burnley, Brighton in the FA Cup and the Manchester derby on 17 January.
Kobbie Mainoo has been waiting for his chance but he too has a knock that has ruled him out of United’s last three games. While he is expected back sooner than Fernandes, the England international is not thought to be in contention this weekend.
Harry Maguire also remains sidelined along with Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutchman has been sidelined for the last six weeks with a back injury with no real timeline for his return in place as of yet.
Mason Mount is also back on the sidelines after he was forced off at half-time against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Given the raft of absences, Amorim does not have much wriggle room as far as squad rotation is concerned.
Six academy graduates were named on the bench against Wolves with Bendito Mantato coming off the bench in the second-half following Jack Fletcher’s introduction at the break.
But Amorim faces another big call in whether to throw the kids into the fray in what will be a boisterous atmosphere at Elland Road.
Man Utd XI to face Leeds – Metro prediction
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There was promise in the 4-2-4-1 system Amorim reverted to against Newcastle, one that allowed Patrick Dorgu to thrive in a new role on the right.
So we were all left a little curious when he switched back to his 3-4-3 against Wolves. United were turgid in every sense of the word that night, but given Leeds boss Daniel Farke also favours a back three, Amorim seems likely to stick with his regular system.
United had no real game-changers off the bench against Wolves and with Amorim limited to the same options he was that night, that will be the case this afternoon too.
Leeds vs Man Utd TV channel, kick-off time and live stream
Leeds vs Man Utd kicks off at 12:30pm on Sunday 4 January.
You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 with streaming also available through the Discovery+ app.
