Ruben Amorim will take charge of his first Manchester United game on Sunday against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
A new era begins at the club and there is a clear need for United to hit the ground running, with the team sitting 13th in the Premier League heading into the weekend.
United have scored only 12 goals in 11 league matches this season, more than only Everton, Crystal Palace and Southampton have managed.
Here are five things to look at as Amorim gets to work...
Back three and wing backs
The main talking point surrounding Amorim’s appointment, at least on the field, is his use of a 3-4-3 formation. That is a step away from the norm at United, barring a brief period in the Louis van Gaal era.
The Portuguese head coach is expected to immediately implement it, but the questions are: who will start? And how will it look?
The first is dependent on who’s fit, with Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof both in a race to be fit, Harry Maguire already out, and Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia all on the comeback trail from respective long-term issues.
If all miss out, this could mean a back three of Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, and Jonny Evans. As for the wing backs? Any of Amad, Antony or Alejandro Garnacho could start alongside Noussair Mazraoui.
Both wing backs will be expected to provide width and crossing, as well as defensive cover out of possession.
It will likely help, at least at the start of the game, that Ipswich play a similar system.
Andre Onana’s distribution
It is not saying much, but Onana has been United’s best player so far this season. He got gradually better in his debut campaign after a rough start and has gone up another level in recent months.
There is still much for the Cameroonian keeper to improve on, including his distribution, which was earmarked as a strong suit upon his arrival but was damaged under Erik ten Hag’s chaos ball tactics.
Onana was forced to often punt the ball long with Ten Hag wanting his side to win the ball back high up the pitch. It negated the former Ajax man’s ability, which is best utilised playing out from the back.
Amorim’s goalkeeper at previous clubs was more involved in the build-up, which should suit Onana, as well as playing with three centre backs, giving him more passing options.
Bruno Fernandes’ positioning
Undoubtedly United’s best player, Fernandes’ role under his fellow countryman will be fascinating.
The 30-year-old passed his now-head coach like a ship in the night at Sporting, departing for Old Trafford a month before his arrival, but has said he has watched almost all his former side’s games since, so he should have a fair idea of where he will play.
It will be off the main striker, but whether that is as an inside forward or a no. 10 is still up for debate. Anyone who watched Fernandes under Ruud van Nistelrooy, when he played much closer to goal, will know that the second option is the best for both his own output and the team’s.
Getting the most out of his new captain will be key to Amorim’s immediate hopes of success.
Rasmus Hojlund’s impact
How Fernandes plays will help impact how effective Rasmus Hojlund can be. The young Dane has shown glimpses of his clear talent at United, but was limited by Ten Hag’s system, which saw him used as a target man at times, and not supplied with anywhere near enough of the ball.
That should change under Amorim, with fellow Scandinavian, Viktor Gyokeres, the most obvious template for success. The two players have fellow similar profiles, but Gyokeres was the attacking focal point of a well-oiled machine at Sporting.
Width and crossing was provided from wing backs, and the Swede had other attackers close to him. Hojlund will hope for the same at Portman Road but would be advised to focus on movement away from defenders instead of wrestling them as he has done so of late.
Identity
Everything listed above will impact this and vice versa. It is also something Amorim has spoken about at length since his arrival in Manchester.
“To win time is to win games,” he said.
“But the most important thing for me is identity. So, since day one we will start with our identity.
“Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot on our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details. You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So, if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity.”
A fully functioning Amorim team like he had at Sporting cannot be expected on Sunday, or in the near future, but his principles and patterns will hopefully be on display, as well as clear differences from his predecessor’s wayward system.
