Can Manchester United finish in the top four under Ruben Amorim? Statement wins over rivals can keep dream alive
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Updated 03/12/2024 at 14:55 GMT
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It may be early days but Manchester United are already experiencing the feel-good factor under their new manager. And while it would be wise to be cautious at this early stage, there's an inescapable optimism that things will pick up for the Old Trafford giants with Ruben Amorim at the wheel. Is a top four push a possibility this season?
'I don't like it' - 'Honoured' Amorim on Man Utd fans chanting his name
Video credit: SNTV
The real deal or another false dawn?
Listen. Despite the ups and downs of the last decade, you can’t fault the belief and optimism at Manchester United.
The muscle memory of Sir Alex Ferguson’s long period of success remains, and just as he stood on the pitch and asked the fans ahead of the admittedly disastrous reign of his first successor, David Moyes, to "stand by the new manager", so the Old Trafford faithful have done time and time again.
Excluding the caretaker/interim spells of Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Ralf Rangnick and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ruben Amorim is the sixth man to take his place in the Old Trafford dugout since Sir Alex left in 2013. But where others have failed, there is a renewed feeling that maybe, this might be the man who takes Manchester United football club ‘back’ to the dizzy heights experienced under the famous Scot.
Amorim’s brilliant work with Sporting has been well documented and with United under new ownership too, things should in theory be different to the relative chaos of the last decade.
But let’s remain calm. After a lowly eighth place finish last season – their worst since 1990 – and a poor start to the season that saw Erik ten Hag sent packing, stability is surely the name of the game.
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That said, the club’s ambitions can not be repressed. A dominant 4-0 win in the new boss’ first home league match in charge may have heightened expectations already, and even has us asking if a top-four push is on the cards?
The coming month could shape United’s outlook for the season...
Who do United play between now and the New Year?
Following their emphatic victory over Everton on Sunday, the manager is now running something of a gauntlet for the rest of month, with two matches a week across three competitions until January 5th.
United kick-off with a trip to Arsenal (December 4) before hosting Nottingham Forest (Dec 7), both in the Premier League. A UEFA Europa League visit to Viktoria Plzen (Dec 12) follows before resuming league action against rivals Manchester City at the Etihad (Dec 15).
Another away day against Tottenham (Dec 19) in the Carabao Cup quickly follows ahead of a home game against Bournemouth (Dec 22), a trip to Wolves (Dec 26), before welcoming Newcastle to Old Trafford (Dec 30).
After all that, there is just the small matter of a visit to Anfield to take on current runaway league leaders and bitter rivals Liverpool (Jan 5).
Manchester United upcoming fixtures
| Opponent | Date | Competition |
| Arsenal (A) | December 4 | Premier League |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | December 7 | Premier League |
| Viktoria Plzen (A) | December 12 | UEFA Europa League |
| Manchester City (A) | December 15 | Premier League |
| Tottenham (A) | December 19 | Carabao Cup |
| Bournemouth (H) | December 22 | Premier League |
| Wolves (A) | December 26 | Premier League |
| Newcastle (H) | December 30 | Premier League |
| Liverpool (A) | January 5 | Premier League |
Big games and chances to make a statement
As far as the league is concerned, the eye-catching fixtures here are the matches against Arsenal, City and Liverpool – arguably the three teams Manchester United consider their biggest domestic rivals.
All three of these matches being on the road present something of a baptism of fire for the new boss but also an opportunity to lay down a marker early in his Old Trafford career.
The Arsenal match comes immediately after that confidence-boosting thrashing of Everton. Amorim has recently tasted success at the Emirates with Sporting - beating the Gunners on penalties in the Europa League in 2023 – meaning there will be less of an intimidation factor going up against Mikel Arteta’s side.
If City’s current state of freefall is still ongoing by the time United head to the Etihad Stadium, then it could present the perfect opportunity for the new man to make a statement against the champions.
The Liverpool game looks a daunting prospect at the end of a gruelling run but equally, Arne Slot’s side will themselves be coming through some testing fixtures, so it may be the ideal time to head down the M62.
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'Suits me very well' - Hojlund can already see improvements under Amorim
Video credit: TNT Sports
Home comforts
Aside from those blockbuster fixtures, the Boxing Day trip to Molineux is their only other away appointment in the league and on paper, match-going fans at Old Trafford are likely to be quietly confident with the games to come.
At home, United will first face Nottingham Forest, who have impressed so far this campaign.
Equally, Bournemouth have shown they can mix it with the top sides, having beaten Arsenal and Manchester City this season (albeit at home) and will no doubt remember their 3-0 victory at Old Trafford almost exactly 12 months prior.
Newcastle arrive in Manchester at the tail end of the busy schedule and while Eddie Howe’s side haven’t been at their best this season, the timing of the fixture could prove tricky for both clubs.
Ultimately, Amorim’s side will go into these matches as favourites, but will take nothing for granted given their recent history.
Who are they up against?
The top four chase is rarely a smoothly run race, with several teams usually in the hunt.
As it stands, United in ninth are just six points behind second-place Arsenal but also find themselves level on points with three other sides, right down to Aston Villa in 12th.
In such a compressed league table, leapfrogging the sides above them as well as trying to pull away from those below at the same time will not come easy.
Arsenal and Chelsea find themselves neck and neck in the chase to catch Liverpool while fending off the sides behind them, and only a fool would write off Manchester City despite their current troubles.
Meanwhile, surprise packages Brighton and Nottingham Forest will be doing their best to keep pace.
Spurs are also hovering without anyone really knowing how they will perform on any given week.
All United can do is win their matches and hope that teams can start taking points off each other at the same time.
What are the positive signs from the Amorim’s start to life at the club?
Fans have good reason to get excited by Amorim and what appears at first to be quite the departure from Ten Hag for whom, outwardly at least, presented a stubborn, prickly, demeanour which was difficult to warm to and embrace, particularly when things were going wrong.
In contrast, Amorim’s beaming smile and apparent charisma (so far!) has fans already willing and ready to buy in to his ideas. But what have we seen so far to get the Stretford End buzzing again?
Fast starts
81 seconds! That’s all it took for United fans to believe in Amorim. Marcus Rashord stabbing the ball home a little over a minute into the new manager’s first match was enough to convince people the club were entering a new era.
While they went on to draw that game with Ipswich, another first-minute goal followed in the 3-2 Europa League rollercaoster win over Bodo/Glimt. While things took slightly longer against Everton in terms of scoring, it was still a match United looked to stamp their mark on from the very first whistle, with a number of chances created before Rashford’s 35th-minute opener.
It's worth noting that Rashford's second came within 20 seconds of the second-half restart against the Toffees so striking fast is not just reserved for the start of matches.
Fast starts seem to be a theme of Amorim’s approach, as opposed to the caution exercised by one or two previous managers, and if nothing else, that will get fans excited once again.
Rejuvenated attackers
United have scored eight goals so far in the new manager’s three matches, with strikers Rashford (3), Rasmus Hojlund (2), and Joshua Zirkzee (2) all filling their boots and Alejandro Garnacho scoring the other.
Early days it may be, but it is more than an encouraging sign that Amorim can seemingly unlock these players to get them firing, as well as having multiple options in that area of the pitch.
The rebirth of Amad Diallo and his three assists under the new manager has also been a bonus in recent weeks.
With the club potentially linked to another forward in the January window, it could well be the case that Amorim has all he needs in the department already.
'Something special' in the stands
Amorim was welcomed to Old Trafford ahead of his first home match in the Eruopa League with a banner from fans reading 'Bemvindo a casa, Ruben' in Portuguese, translated ‘Welcome home, Ruben’ to which the manager reacted emotionally afterwards, stating: "The first thing is that half of the stadium doesn’t know me, doesn’t really know me, I came from Portugal, I did nothing for this club yet, so the way they make me feel at home is so special.
"It is not after something, it is before something. It is something special, and I will keep this to the end of my career."
The idea of fans already forming a bond with the new manager like this indicates they will get behind him in the coming weeks over this testing period of fixtures and that could have an impact on how they play out.
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'This is special' - Amorim bowled over by Old Trafford recption for first match
Video credit: TNT Sports
It will take time
Amorim himself is keen not to allow everyone to get ahead of themselves and ultimately believes his team are, and will continue to be, a work in progress for the foreseeable future.
"It was far from a perfect performance," he said after the Everton win.
"I felt that the players could solve some problems that we have as a team because of the quality that they have, but it was far from a perfect performance, but a really good result and tough match."
He added: "Rather than trying to convince the fans about this performance, we have a lot to do, it will take time.
"Sometimes we are not playing well but defended everyone together. Our fans just ask for hard work and then in time they will ask for better football."
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