Manchester United are once more doing far from great. Ruben Amorim’s arrival was long-awaited, after Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four-match spell as the interim manager. But the Portuguese is not doing so well at the beginning of his term, as the Red Devils have started showing him once more why this team has been a perennial underachiever.
Amorim’s side responded well with wins against Bodo/Glimt and Everton following Amorim’s starting draw away against Ipswich. But then a comfortable loss to Arsenal and a defeat at Old Trafford at the hands of Nottingham Forest have shown him just how far he is from fixing things.
We are already deep into the December and now is the right time to check what awaits Manchester United and Ruben Amorim before the end of 2024.
Viktoria Plzen – Away
First chance to redeem themselves, United will have this Thursday against Viktoria Plzen. The Devils will be traveling to Czechia on Europa League duty and they will be overwhelming favourites to win. Their wins against PAOK and Bodo/Glimt have made things look better, but another three points are necessary and there will be no excuses for United. Viktoria is second in the Czech League, already 10 points behind the dominant Slavia Prague, and in the Europa League they are doing as well as United. After three starting draws, they defeated Real Sociedad and Dinamo Kiev, both 2-1
The Manchester Derby – Away
After that, on Sunday 15 December, United will make a short trip to the Etihad Stadium, to face Manchester City. Usually this would be an even bigger challenge than it is right now, because Pep Guardiola’s side is far from their best for some time now. They have defeated only Bournemouth in their last nine matches, losing six and getting two draws in the process. They are now looking lost in the title race, already down to fourth place, but for United that should not mean much, as Ruben Amorim will want to get another win over Guardiola this season, following his last match at Sporting in the Champions League.
Tottenham Away, Then Bournemouth At Home
After City, United will play their third consecutive match away from home, against Tottenham in London. Spurs are also struggling this season, winning just a point more than United, but they did beat the Devils 3-0 at Old Trafford in September, so that will make things even more interesting.
As for the match against Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola’s side is doing great, sitting in eighth place with 24 points, and on a three-match winning streak right now. The Cherries are also second in the league in terms of expected goal-difference, behind only Liverpool, showing how dangerous they really are.
Wolves Away, Newcastle At Home
Man United’s tricky end to 2024 will be finished with two matches in the final week of the year. On Boxing Day, United will face Wolves at the Molineaux, before facing Newcastle at Old Trafford on 30 December.
Wolves have won just nine points in their first 15 matches of the season and there is a good reason they are sitting in the relegation zone, but so are Ipswich who already took a point off United. As for Newcastle, they are on a run of four matches without a win, although in that run they held Liverpool to a 3-3 draw. Before that, they defeated Chelsea and Arsenal in consecutive matches, so the Devils should be really careful here.
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