Ruben Amorim close to having exactly what he needs at Manchester United

Manchester United return to Old Trafford on Saturday evening in search of a third straight victory

The atmosphere around Manchester United's Carrington training ground this week should be joyous after the club's exploits on Sunday.

Ahead of the game with Liverpool, you could see that Ruben Amorim was a whole lot lighter after the victory over Sunderland prior to the international break. However, an away win over your fiercest rivals, for the first time in nearly a decade, will breed confidence and leave Amorim feeling as though he is walking on air.

Before the clash with Liverpool, United had a couple of injury concerns. Lisandro Martinez was the only definite absentee as his recovery from an ACL injury continues.

MEN Sport understands that Martinez is likely to be out of action until November while the only other issue of note was Noussair Mazraoui, with Amorim unsure if he could play a part at Anfield.

Mazraoui was fit enough to feature on the bench meaning, ahead of the clash with Brighton, just Martinez is out for the Reds.

We are nearing the one-year anniversary of Amorim's arrival at United and during that time it is hard to remember when the Portuguese head coach has had all of his options to call upon. Last December, Amorim bemoaned the injury crisis with the likes of Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount all having to be managed in terms of minutes.

In February, Kobbie Mainoo, Toby Collyer, Amad and Manuel Ugarte were all unavailable for one reason or another just before Martinez suffered his serious injury. If, by some miracle, United did not have a long list of injuries, the relentless and arduous schedule forced Amorim to rotate his squad anyway.

While nobody at United will be pleased about having plenty of free midweeks this season, it has allowed the Reds to nurture players back to full fitness and, most importantly, keep them there. Mount is arguably the main benefactor.

Amorim having a full set of players to choose from for a matchday squad may seem a luxury that Premier League managers rarely get, and one that those at the top have to work around in modern day football. But United must now take full advantage and build a winning run.

---

Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.

Click here to read article