Ruben Amorim Manchester United
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Today Ruben Amorim and his squad have travelled to Spain as Manchester United take on Real Sociedad in the Europa League Round of 16.
Tomorrow night will see the first leg of the draw, as United hope to survive the round, with the tournament being their final chance at silverware.
With The Red Devils knocked out of the FA Cup and set to finish outside of the top six in the Premier League, winning the Europa League is also their only hope of qualifying for European football next season.
However, Amorim’s squad have been plagued with injuries yet again, seeing him without the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, and now Manuel Ugarte and Harry Maguire.
As such, the first-team were joined by several exciting academy graduates, hoping to capitalise on the vast number of injuries and get their senior United debuts.
The senior squad were joined by youngsters Jaydan Kamason, Jack Fletcher, Harry Amass, Jack Moorhouse and James Scanlon, who were all hoping to join the team to face Sociedad.
However, this now appears to have been a move to make up numbers, with the head coach opting to only take an 18-man squad to Spain as opposed to the 23-man squad he’s allowed to take.
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Ruben Amorim explains team selection decision
In the pre-match press conference broadcast on MUTV, Ruben Amorim explained his reasoning for this decision.
Speaking about his call to leave five of the younger players behind, Amorim commented: “I am trying to manage everything, it is a big step for them.”
He continued: “I am trying to think about every aspect. I am not thinking about what it will look like with their friends and the media.
“We know that bringing some players is a big step and we are taking care of the expectations of the kids.”
Due to Amorim’s decision to only take 18 men, the travelling squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Andre Onana, Dermot Mee, Elyh Harrison
Defenders: Harry Amass, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Dorgu, Ayden Heaven, Victor Lindelof, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro
Midfielders: Casemiro, Toby Collyer, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes
Attackers: Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee.
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