Premier League: Ruben Amorim begins work at Man Utd, Liverpool can extend their lead at the top
Ruben Amorim prepares for his first match as Manchester United head coach, while Liverpool can go eight points clear with a win at St Mary's; Southampton vs Liverpool, Ipswich vs Man Utd and Newcastle vs West Ham live on Sky Sports this weekend
Sunday 24 November 2024 07:54, UK
How soon can Ruben Amorim get his ideas across as he gears up for his first taste of Premier League football with a trip to Ipswich? Sky Sports' football writers analyse the main talking points ahead of some exciting Premier League action.
The Amorim era begins at Man Utd
Here we go again, Manchester United. Ruben Amorim takes charge of his first game against Ipswich in the Premier League on Sunday, and you can watch it live on Sky Sports.
Amorim is the sixth person to fill the role vacated by Sir Alex Ferguson 11 years ago, although he is the first to do so under the title of head coach. The hope is that the new structure around him will give him a better chance of success than his predecessors.
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For now, he must make do with the squad he has, which is a group of players assembled under four different regimes, lacking any consistent vision or style of play. He has the added complication of wanting to bring in a new formation unfamiliar to most of the squad.
Most of his players have been away on international duty, giving him just two training sessions with a full complement ahead of the trip to Ipswich. They face a side full of confidence after claiming their first league win of the season at Tottenham.
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As ever with a new head coach, optimism is in the air, but that can quickly disappear if performances and results do not improve. Amorim is tasked with getting more from a group of players who have so often struggled for consistency and confidence at United.
No one is realistically expecting Amorim to make United genuine challengers in the short term - it will likely be his promise to create an identity that will be the measure of success in his first season. Erik ten Hag could not manage it in two-and-a-half years.
Results will give him more time to do this and, thanks in part to Ruud van Nistelrooy steadying the ship as interim boss, qualifying for the Champions League no longer feels out of reach. Just four points separate United and fourth-placed Arsenal.
As evidenced with the previous manager, cup competitions will only get Amorim so far. The expectation in the long term is to make United a force in the league once again. No one has done that since Sir Alex. No pressure, Ruben.
Zinny Boswell
Reds begin season-defining run at St Mary's
Liverpool head to bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Super Sunday to begin what could be a season-defining run of Premier League matches for the league leaders that could see them go eight clear at the top following Manchester City's harrowing defeat at Tottenham.
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Slot's side went into the international break holding a five-point lead over Man City and, after the trip to St Mary's, the champions visit Anfield on December 1 in another game you can see live on Sky Sports, before fixtures at Newcastle United and city rivals Everton round off a challenging week for the Reds.
The Dutchman could have a fitness concern over captain Virgil van Dijk for the trip to the south coast after the centre-back returned early from the Netherlands camp, while this game looks like coming too soon for Alisson Becker, Harvey Elliott, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
So, yes, Liverpool will be big favourites to maintain their unbeaten top-flight away run so far this season under Slot, but the Reds head coach will also be aware his team will come up against a Saints side who won their last home match, and that was against opposition from Merseyside as well.
Richard Morgan
Unpredictable Isak looks back to his best
A slow start to the season for Alexander Isak has spiralled up quickly.
Just one goal in his first five league games, followed by a broken toe injury, created an unrecognisable figure at the top of the Newcastle attack, compared to the striker who scored 21 goals the season before.
But Isak's strike against Chelsea at the end of October has opened the floodgates. The Swedish striker has four goals in his last four matches in all competitions for the Magpies, who now have back-to-back Premier League wins and a Carabao Cup quarter-final to look forward to.
Isak looks back to his unpredictable best. His ability to operate as a focal point, No 10 but also drift out wide makes him dangerous - but like all strikers, confidence is key.
With a much-improved shooting accuracy and generating as many xG chances in the last three games as he did in the opening six shows Isak has the bit between his teeth again.
Newcastle's form goes hand in hand with their striker's goal output and they are targeting the European spots before Christmas. Sam Blitz
