Why Man United’s next two weeks could decide Ruben Amorim’s fate
Manchester United have faced a rocky start to their Premier League campaign, winning two of their opening five games.
Ruben Amorim has faced increasing criticism this season over the 4-3-2-1 shape he’s wedded to, and the lack of results it’s yielded for his side.
Man United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea was marred by chaos as two red cards saw the first half end with only 20 players left on the pitch.
It was a must-win affair off the back of Man United’s 3-0 loss to Man City, which left Amorim on the hot seat at Old Trafford.
Man United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Grimsby Town, and are now also lacking European football this season, meaning the weeks are long in the North East at present.
The rumour mill continues to swirl, and conversations around Man United are as intense as ever off the pitch, but on it, attention is firmly focused on the Premier League.
Man United begin their resurgent run on the road against Brentford
Statistically, Man United have faced the toughest start to the season of any Premier League side, facing three of last season’s top four already.
With little else to distract from the past week’s result, the mood around Old Trafford is strongly dictated by week-to-week performances.
Attention has now turned from Chelsea to their West London neighbours, Brentford, who welcome Man United to the GTech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The match will see marquee summer signing Bryan Mbeumo return to his old stomping ground for the first time since his £75 million move up to Manchester.
Since Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League in 2022, Man United have won five of their eight games against the Bees.
However, United have failed to win on their last three visits to West London, losing 4-3 in May 2025 and 4-0 in August 2022, while drawing 1-1 in March 2024.
Mbeumo will be key to United’s success, and the Cameroonian has been a bright spark for the Red Devils in the early part of the season.
Despite having only netted once so far, the former Brentford winger sits just out of the top ten for expected goals this season in the Premier League with 1.85.
With Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount both still not match fit, Mbeumo will likely have to be the pantomime villain on his return to the west end of the capital.
Sunderland visit will set Man United up for international break
After a trip to Brentford, United get a full week off, playing Sunderland at home on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford.
Amorim spoke ahead of the Europa League final in May about the free weeks United would have if they lost the final, which they eventually did, and the Portuguese head coach will now want to show why that’s so important.
Sunderland are no pushovers, and despite being absent from the Premier League for eight seasons, the Black Cats have made an impressive showing on their return to England’s top flight.
| Sunderland’s First Five Premier League Games | Result |
| 16 Aug, 2025 | Sunderland 3-0 West Ham |
| 23 Aug, 2025 | Burnley 2-0 Sunderland |
| 30 Aug, 2025 | Sunderland 2-1 Brentford |
| 13 Sept, 2025 | Crystal Palace 0-0 Sunderland |
| 21 Sept, 2025 | Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa |
Two wins and two draws have them seventh, on eight points, and they may well be above Man United before the match kicks off on 4 October.
A positive result for United could boost Amorim’s side into the European places if results go their way though, and that result would make the international break feel a lot more relaxing.
Man United have the Premier League’s highest expected goals tally of any team in the league, 10.13, and are the league’s biggest under-performers of their xG tally.
Having spent the summer buying the Premier League’s two highest xG overperformers from the 2024-25 season, Mbeumo and Methus Cunha, Amorim will hope that trend evens itself out soon.
Sunderland will be a stern test for those numbers, allowing just 5.31 expected goals this season, the sixth lowest in the Premier League.
United currently sit in 11th in the Premier League table, but wins against Brentford and Sunderland could see Amorim’s side propel themselves up the table.
| Team | Current Points | w/c Sept 22 | w/c Sept 29 (Midweek) | w/c Sept 29 (weekend) |
| Arsenal | 10 | Newcastle (A) | Olympiakos (H) | West Ham (H) |
| Tottenham | 10 | Wolves (H) | Bodo Glimt (A) | Leeds (A) |
| Bournemouth | 10 | Leeds (A) | – | Fulham (H) |
| Crystal Palace | 9 | Liverpool (H) | Dynamo Kyiv (A) | Everton (A) |
| Chelsea | 8 | Brighton (H) | Benfica (H) | Liverpool (H) |
| Sunderland | 8 | Nott’m Forest (A) | – | Man United (A) |
| Fulham | 8 | Aston Villa (A) | – | Bournemouth (A) |
| Man City | 7 | Burnley (H) | Monaco (A) | Brentford (A) |
| Everton | 7 | West Ham (H) | – | Crystal Palace (H) |
While Man United have free midweek periods, competitors like Crystal Palace and Chelsea battle with fixture congestion and European competitions over the same stretch.
Liverpool first up after two weeks off
With just two games in 22 days, United will be fully prepared to take on Liverpool when they come out of the international break.
The Premier League champions have looked shaky to start the season despite winning all five of their opening Premier League games.
Should United pick up the six points they’d be expecting from their next two games, the mood will be buoyant heading into Anfield on 19 October.
United have managed a positive result in their last two trips to Anfield, drawing 0-0 and 2-2, since losing 7-0 in March 2023.
Liverpool, by comparison, will have faced a stern test against Crystal Palace as well as difficult trips to Galatasaray and Chelsea ahead of the international break, before meeting with United.
If ever there was a time for Amorim to finally pick up a run of form and ride the wave of optimism around the club, it is now, with a favourable run of fixtures placing United in touching distance of the top four.
While they currently sit on seven points from five, in a month’s time that tally could look a lot more favourable for Amorim’s side.