Amorim spoke to the press ahead of the first derby of the season. He gave us some updates that we may not have wanted but seemed otherwise positive in terms of his mood going into Sunday's crunch game.
The manager confirmed that all three of Cunha, Mount and Dalot will be unavailable for the derby. Cunha and Mount suffered injuries in the win over Burnley and Dalot pulled out of Portugal duty with a problem. It's unclear as to how long they will be absent for.
Another confirmation by the manager was who will start in goal. Despite signing a new goalkeeper, Amorim says that it will be Bayindir who starts on Sunday. "We are in the moment that the goalkeeper needs to be really strong and have a lot of experience." This probably indicates that it may take time before we see Lammens start for United. However, Amorim did admit that the Belgian and Bayindir will "fight for the position" so the Turk's no 1 spot isn't safe.
To be honest, I am not surprised Amorim went with Bayindir. This is what I thought he'd do as per my preview but it's obviously not ideal. We have a new player, we want to see him play even if he is a risk, although it ain't as if Bayindir isn't a risk as well.
The manager also showed his support for the Turk saying that "he is ready to play" which is obviously a nice thing because you don't want to have another goalkeeper low on confidence after Onana's horrendous two years at the club.
On the Cameroonian, Amorim says that "we understood it needed a change" in relation to Onana staying at United. He wishes him the best but feels as though leaving was the right decision for all parties.
As for City, the MUFC boss says that "I think we are a better team." He pointed to the stats which would suggest United are one of the best teams in the league. However, despite the data, it's about going out there and proving it on the pitch.
Despite feeling United are better, Amorim did add that City are "a top team" and that with Pep Guardiola, he is "the best coach in the world." He says that they are a difficult team to face but that United are prepared and "we believe in our team."
As we all know, derbies or any big game is always a great leveller. Anything is possible. This could also be the perfect match for City to get their season back on track. On the other hand, we tend to perform in these bigger games so it wouldn't be surprising if we did go there and get a positive result.
We beat them last season in this fixture so why not again?
Technically, we are better than them because not only would the data say that but also the fact that we are higher (9th) than them (13th) in the table.
Our performances have also not yielded the right results we deserved whereas City have been well below par in all aspects. Their position is perhaps more a fair reflection of who they are at the moment compared to us.
But this may not matter because the blue half of Manchester are more than capable of humbling us with ease. United also struggle away from home particularly in the big games so that's why this derby is a lot harder to call than previous ones.
It should be a cracker though.
Ruben Amorim | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Pep Guardiola | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal