Manchester United haven’t played Sunderland since the 2016/17 campaign, but will welcome the Black Cats to Old Trafford on Saturday.
It has been a troublesome time for Sunderland since the two sides last battled in the Premier League.
The Black Cats have been as low as League One, but look very well-equipped for the Premier League season, sitting nine places and four points ahead of Manchester United.
United will have to make some changes against Sunderland, with the team and system picked this season so far not bringing the wins that will save Ruben Amorim.
Despite their recent return to the league, Sunderland will be no pushover, with Amorim needing his forwards to step up and get the goals needed to win.
For Benjamin Sesko, this would mean repeating what his idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic did last time the teams met in 2017
Benjamin Sesko of Manchester United looks on vs Brentford with Bryan Mbeumo in background.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star last time Manchester United met Sunderland
On the two occasions United played Sunderland that season, it was Ibrahimovic who stepped forward as the star of the show.
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The first meeting saw Ibrahimovic score and provide two assists at Old Trafford, with one being for Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion goal.
Meanwhile, in the second game, away from home, the Swedish hero scored and assisted in a 3-0 win.
This gave him five goal contributions in the two games, which is a very impressive tally. If United are to claim all three points, Amorim will need Sesko on his top game and emulate a striker he has labelled an icon.
Benjamin Sesko needs to be Ruben Amorim’s star man for this must-win clash
Sesko is a massive Ibrahimovic fan, and he made this very clear during his first interview after joining United.
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“Since I was small, I was watching him, like every single YouTube video that I could find, because he’s just amazing for me. We don’t have the same character, but I just like to see him the way he plays, the way he enjoys football.
“If you enjoy football, then everything works. I think this is the most important [thing]. It has been my dream to one day meet him; that would be great, so in general, he’s my idol.”
So with this in mind, Sesko should know what he has to do for United this weekend against Sunderland. Sesko scored his first goal for United last week against Brentford, and now it is time for him to kick on.
Sesko stepping up to secure Amorim’s position at least for the time being would be massive for the club and his head coach, offering a glimmer of hope that the impressive expected points are a sign of things to come.