London, May 4 (IANS) Ruben Amorim has made eight changes to his starting XI as Manchester United take on Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday. At 17 years and 156 days, Chido Obi is set to become United’s youngest-ever Premier League starter.
Altay Bayindir starts in goal for Manchester United in a much-changed line-up. Youngsters Tyler Fredricson, Chido Obi and Harry Amass all start along with Mason Mount. Only left wing-back Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, midfielder Manuel Ugarte and forward Alejandro Garnacho retain their places in the XI.
With one eye on next Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club at Old Trafford, Amorim has rested the majority of the team that performed brilliantly to secure a 3-0 lead from the first leg in Bilbao.
The Portuguese head coach had confirmed his decision to play Chido in the pre-game press conference with an eye towards the clash against Athletic.
“Maybe some kids will have to play against Brentford. We have some problems in our squad. Some players are in the limit. We will try to manage everything and the best way is to prepare for all these things. We’ll see what we can do at the weekend.
“Chido cannot play against Athletic but, in the Premier League, yes, of course. They will have to play. We have some problems. We have some players, in this moment who can play one game, but the next one they cannot play.
“We don’t know what kind of starting XI we need for the second game [this week]. Everything is in my mind but they [the youngsters] will have to play,” said Amorim.
Starting line-up
Man Utd
Starting XI: Bayindir; Fredricson, De Ligt, Shaw (c); Chinazaekpere Dorgu, Ugarte, Mainoo, Amass; Garnacho, Mount; Obi.
Substitutes: Heaton, Lindelof, Maguire, Yoro, Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes, Amad, Hojlund.
Brentford
Starting XI: Flekken, Kayode, Collins, Van Den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Wissa, Mbeumo, Schade
Substitutes: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Thiago, Mee, Ajer, Konak, Nunes
–IANS
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