Amorim is expected to heavily rotate against Chelsea.
Amorim is expected to heavily rotate against Chelsea.
Some good advice for Ruben Amorim over the next few days would be not to take any unnecessary risks with your Manchester United team selection against Chelsea.
Amroim will pick his team to face Chelsea with the Europa League final at the forefront of his thinking, and it would be sensible not to pick any players who will start against Tottenham.
The only problem with that is Amorim might be forced to pick some players who he intends to start at the Estadio de San Mames. United have a handful of injuries in the squad, which means even a second-string team at Stamford Bridge may require the presence of two starters for Bilbao.
Those players could be Andre Onana and Alejandro Garnacho. Amorim rested Onana from the squad against West Ham last weekend, but goalkeepers have minimal injury risk and he should be recalled.
Onana is prone to making errors and he feels like the kind of goalkeeper who needs to play before a final, so it might be asking for trouble to parachute him back into the team at the Estadio de San Mames.
Amorim shouldn't lose too much sleep over the prospect of starting Onana because his injury risk is low, although he's probably got a slight headache over the remainder of the team.
When you pick a reserve team to face Chelsea, the options are limited and picking an academy player to start in one of the No.10 roles would be the answer to give Garnacho a rest.
The possible starting team for Chelsea.
But which youngster could fill in? Jack Moorhouse has been named in a handful of matchday squads and would be perfect for the role, however, he was absent from the Under-21s' final games of the season and wasn't in first-team training on Wednesday.
Amorim might feel James Scanlon has done enough to receive his debut against Chelsea. Scanlon took part in senior training at Carrington this week and would also be a logical selection.
It's possible that Amorim doesn't believe there is a youngster from the academy who is ready to start in the left No.10 position against Chelsea, though. And in that case, he would have to take a risk with Garnacho.
The possible starting XI for the Europa League final.
Garnacho has made 56 appearances in all competitions this season, working his socks off for United again. Garnacho's finishing can leave a lot to be desired at times, but the winger has actually had an underrated season and everyone seems to forget that he's still only 20.
United must have Garnacho in their starting team in Bilbao, so resting him at Stamford Bridge is the best option, but it does feel like he could be given another start in London on Friday.
Garnacho deserves huge credit for his robustness. He has only picked up an ankle injury since he broke into the first-team in 2022 and he's almost always been available for selection.
It will be fascinating to see what degree of risk Amorim deems acceptable against Chelsea, especially after Leny Yoro picked up an injury after his surprise selection against West Ham.
There was also an injury scare when Rasmus Hojlund went to the ground, clinching his shoulder, in that game. Amorim was spotted on the cameras nervously biting his knuckles.
The fitness of Yoro, Diogo Dalot and Matthijs de Ligt for next week's Europa League final are going to be touch-and-go, which means United cannot afford any more casualties against Chelsea.