Manchester United and AC Milan manager Ruben Amorim are about to cross paths for the first time since their unceremonious separation in January.
The two parties ended a tumultuous 14-month collaboration on a poor note, with INEOS firing the Portuguese tactician on the back of a raucous press conference at Elland Road.
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Nevertheless, fate has brought them back together in Dublin, as Man Utd are preparing to meet Milan in their final pre-season game. The contest kicks off on Saturday, 15:45 UK time.
How Man Utd will line up against Milan
In his last test before travelling to Hull on the opening day of the season, this will be Michael Carrick’s ultimate opportunity to test his best available lineup.
Therefore, we can expect Senne Lammens to start in goal, with Harry Maguire returning to marshal the backline.
With Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt still unavailable, the coach must pick between Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven. The young Englishman could be the slight favourite to start, and the same goes for Diogo Dalot in his renewed battle with Noussair Mazraoui. On the contrary, Luke Shaw is almost uncontested at left-back.
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With Mason Mount still unavailable, new signings Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos should combine in the double pivot, with Bruno Fernandes in front of them.
Benjamin Sesko still hasn’t recovered from his injury, so Bryan Mbeumo should lead the line once more, making room for Amad Diallo on the right wing, while Matheus Cunha should take over from Patrick Dorgu on the left side.
Man Utd Probable XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Tielemans, Santos; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo
Ruben Amorim bracing himself for pleasant & sour reunions
In this predicted starting lineup, Amorim will spot several old allies who will be delighted to meet him, including his two compatriots Fernandes and Dalot. The Portuguese manager also played an important role in Maguire’s career revival.
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The 41-year-old is also a big admirer of Amad, who had his best Man Utd stretch under his watch. The Ivorian has even been tipped to follow the manager to Milan by some news outlets in Italy.
On the contrary, Carrick’s bench will feature players who were certainly thrilled to see Amorim walking away in January, and chief among them is Marcus Rashford.
As fate would have it, the England international could make his first appearance for United in over 18 months against the person who almost single-handedly chased him out of his boyhood club.
There is also no love lost between Amorim and Kobbie Mainoo, who was relegated to a benchwarmer when the latter was at Carrington, only to explode following Carrick’s appointment.
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Finally, Harry Amass had his own run-in with the new Milan boss, who once ill-advisedly used him and Chido Obi as examples of struggling Man Utd youth products, only for the duo to respond with not-so-crypted social media posts that were swiftly deleted afterwards.
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