Ipswich vs Manchester United LIVE: Premier League team news and line-ups from Ruben Amorim’s debut

These two sides have met 51 times in the past, though not since 2015, when United won 3-0 in an FA Cup tie.

The last time the two sides met in the league was in 2002, when United ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a penalty from Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Overall, United have won 25 meetings, Ipswich have won 17, and nine have ended as draws.

In his pre-match press conference, Kieran McKenna said that he thinks that his side “ have enough depth at the moment to be competitive in the match”.

“We are going to put out the team we think gives us the best chance to win the game.

“We will have some good options and hopefully if we can get a few players back in the next week or so we will have a strong squad available for a busy run of games.

“We’ve had the balance of a little bit of rest – because we know it is a busier spell coming up now right through until the March international fixtures – but also some good preparation time. Preparation time that has been important with the team we are facing next under new management.

“It’s been about getting them focused and ready for a big performance on Sunday.”

Ruben Amorim is relishing the “huge responsibility” of taking Manchester United back to the top as the new head coach prepares to take charge for the first time at Ipswich.

Having stayed at Sporting Lisbon for three final matches after being named Erik ten Hag’s successor on November 1, the 39-year-old will finally be in the Red Devils’ dugout for Sunday’s trip to Portman Road.

Quite the task awaits Amorim given underperforming United entered the weekend 13th in the Premier League standings with a paltry four wins from their opening 11 matches.

Before the international break, Ipswich won their first game of the season with a 2-1 victory at Spurs. In the four matches before that, they had had three losses and a draw, including a 4-3 loss to Brentford and 4-1 loss to West Ham.

Kieran McKenna’s side sit 19th in the league, but only one point away from the safety zone.

United have had mixed results themselves, though things have picked up slightly since Erik ten Hag was sacked. They beat Leicester 3-0 last time out, and beat PAOK in the Europa League after a draw to Chelsea at Old Trafford.

They sit 12th on just 15 points as things stand.

In preparing for his presentation as Manchester United manager, Ruben Amorim has been mindful of an idea that has guided his coaching career so far. That is, if you can’t say something in a single sentence, don’t do it. Work on it, so it’s clear.

That approach has never been more necessary than at Old Trafford, where constant noise and fire have created this fog around one of English football’s great institutions. The team, as much as anything else, could do with some simple clarity.

That is what the players have found in Amorim’s training sessions. They’ve been impressed by the focus of his instructions, as he immerses himself in the drills. It’s only a decade since Amorim was a player, after all. The image so far has been assured.

We thought there would be some surprises! Ruben Amorim names his first Manchester United team, with a front-three of Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford and both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund on the bench!

The back three is made up of Noussair Mazrouai, Matthijs De Ligt and Jonny Evans, with Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot the full-backs? Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are the midfield pair and there is strength on the bench, with Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw all there.

Ipswich XI: Muric, Davis, Burgess, O’Shea, Johnson, Tuanzebe, Morsy, Cajuste, Szmodics, Hutchinson, Delap

Man Utd XI: Onana, Mazrouai, De Ligt, Evans, Casemiro, Eriksen, Amad, Dalot, Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford

Subs: Bayindir, Malacia, Shaw, Mainoo, Mount, Ugarte, Antony, Hojlund, Zirkzee

We’re expecting team news in the next five minutes or so. What will the first starting eleven of Ruben Amorim’s tenure bring?

Leny Yoro is NOT in the United squad – so he’ll have to wait a little longer for a debut.

Manchester United are preparing to embark on a new era as Ruben Amorim takes charge for their Premier League fixture against Ipswich.

And Amorim could be immediately boosted by a couple of injury returnees.

Ruben Amorim was running through Manchester United’s recent managerial history. “The guys who won everything like [Louis] van Gaal and [Jose] Mourinho,” he said. “New ones who knew the club inside out like [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer, and one of the best that there will ever be outside the five strongest leagues was [Erik] ten Hag. You have different type of coaches, the same result.”

That result sometimes involved a cup or two, but never a true title challenge. None ultimately succeeded; not by the standards of what Amorim called a “global” club, “still the best” in England. All of which may have deterred many a manager. Old Trafford, arguably, has been a graveyard for them. Brushing aside the suggestion it has become the impossible job, Amorim instead arrived with a belief that he can end the trend of disappointment, with a confidence that did not come across as arrogance.

It is two decades since another wunderkind of Portuguese coaching anointed himself a “Special One”. Amorim came with a message from Mourinho, an open acknowledgement he is influenced by him, yet differentiating himself from his predecessor. There was charisma with less bravado, a coach positioning himself for the future, not yesterday’s man.