
Will Amorim rest key figures in the Premier League?
BBC Radio Manchester's Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath have been discussing whether Ruben Amorim will rest players before Manchester United's Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.The competition is the club's last shot at securing European football for next season, given they have been knocked out of the FA Cup and are currently 14th in the Premier League.Speaking on The Devils' Advocate podcast, Drinkwater said: "Athletic Bilbao are going to be so tough to play against."One thing we can say is that we should have fresh players. Ruben Amorim is not going to play a full-strength team in the Premier League - because why would he?"However, McGrath does not believe that is the correct way to approach the game, saying: "I understand resting players for the Europa League, but we don't play [Bilbao] until 1 May. That is a long time to wait."I think he would be risking it all for the Europa League if he does that - and if it doesn't come off, he is risking his legacy."Drinkwater responded: "He isn't going to rest the players that are going to be playing in the semi-final every week between now and then. There is still going to be the odd one playing here and there just to keep them match fit."Ruben Amorim's legacy at this club will be lifting that Europa League trophy at the end of this season and taking Manchester United into the Champions League next season."Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds
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Daily Mirror
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd 'agree deal' for popular star to stay after nine Old Trafford exits
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Scotsman
41 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Scotland seek answers in Liechtenstein: Steve Clarke's changes, 'shouldn't be panic' and chance-taker
In last match before World Cup qualifiers, Clarke and co require a response Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The tranquil setting of Vaduz on the banks of the Rhine should not be a place where further pressure is put on a football manager. Flanked by mountains, visitors usually return refreshed and happy. The small nation of Liechtenstein is currently ranked 202 in the FIFA World rankings. Only Hong Kong have suffered defeat to them in the past five years. Their 'golden' era of most-capped keeper Peter Jehle and star striker Mario Frick are long gone. Konrad Fünfstück's are usually deemed as easy prey for opponents of any meaningful repute. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland fall into that category as they arrive at the Rheinpark Stadion on the Swiss border. This is down as an away win, with odds of 1/12 from most bookmakers. San Marino scored three times when they rocked up here in November. It was an evening of anguish for Scotland against Iceland last time out. | SNS Group History with Liechtenstein won't ease any queasiness, mind you. On Scotland's only previous sojourn to Vaduz in 2011, they narrowly prevailed 1-0 thanks to a goal from Craig Mackail-Smith. That came a year on from an almost catastrophic first meeting with Liechtenstein, when Stephen McManus' 97th-minute header earned a 2-1 win at Hampden. The last match of a long season, many in the Scotland squad are entitled to feel jaded. There have been title wins, cup successes and long European runs. This probably isn't their idea of an Alpine retreat. Nevertheless, Scotland need to tool up for one final job ahead of the holidays. A meek 3-1 defeat by Iceland on Friday night and the lacklustre nature of the performance requires a response. This is the last time head coach Steve Clarke will have his squad together before the World Cup qualification campaign kicks off in September against Denmark. The Parken Stadion will be a world away from the docile 7,584 arena they play in on Monday evening. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland 'need to win their next game' Scotland will want to bounce into the autumn matches, of that there is no doubt. Their recent record in friendlies is poor and Clarke wanted to address that in this double-header. Iceland has come and gone, now it's about doing a number on Liechtenstein. "We need to win our next game on Monday night," was the blunt assessment of midfielder Lewis Ferguson after Iceland. "We need to go and put on a good performance and win the game. Winning games is what breeds confidence. We need to get back to that." 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Doohan has made 20 appearances for Aberdeen this season and seems likely to make his debut, having been solid at Pittodrie all season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One may ask why he wasn't in the squad ahead of others. One may also ask why Clarke reverted back to a back-three against Iceland when the back-four had been a reasonable success in the Nations League A campaign against more glamourous opposition. Kieran Tierney's injury may force a formation change. Scott McTominay, the poster boy after Serie A success with Napoli, will also be absent due to a niggle. That means Clarke doesn't need to find the best way to shoe-horn all of his top-level midfielders into one team. It is hard to get Ferguson, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour and McTominay effectively on the pitch at the same time. Craig Mackail-Smith scores the winner against Liechtenstein for Scotland back in 2011. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 And then there are the strikers. Che Adams has not scored for Scotland in a year, and the Torino hitman must sense an opportunity against Liechtenstein. They are rarely scudded, but Adams will surely get chances if selected ahead of George Hirst as Clarke's No 9. He needs to take them. Within the squad, there is awareness of the talent at Scotland's disposal. "There shouldn't be any panic," Ferguson advised. "We've good strong squad, with plenty of quality and experience. But we do recognise that we need to get back to winning ways and get back to performing at the levels we know we're capable of." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad


Scotsman
41 minutes ago
- Scotsman
'I felt like...' - Iceland goalkeeper reveals what surprised him most about Scotland at Hampden
A poor Scotland performance was punished by Iceland as they lost 3-1 at Hampden on Friday. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Goalkeeper Cieran Slicker will want to start for Scotland against Liechtenstein on Monday after his nightmare debut in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, according to to his opposite number Elias Rafn Olafsson. The 22-year-old debutant was thrown into the action after just six minutes at the national stadium when goalkeeper Angus Gunn appeared to injure his ankle when he came to collect a cross, while fellow stopper Robby McCrorie suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, in the opposite goal, Olafsson was hailed as one of Iceland's top performers after making a series of excellent saves to deny George Hirst and, latterly John McGinn, as Scotland pushed to get back into the game, leading the FC Midtjylland man to admit the line between hero and villain is marginal when it comes to being a 'lonely' goalkeeper. Cieran Slicker had a nightmare debut for Scotland and was at fault for all three of Iceland's goals in the 3-1 defeat at Hampden. | Getty Images 'Of course, it's always tough,' said the Icelandic goalkeeper. 'Especially when you come into the game cold off the bench. Then when you come in and make some mistakes, it's hard to get back into the game. I feel empathy for him. It's not the preparation you want for your debut, to not know you're coming in this early in the game as well. It's difficult. It's not going to be the most fun of nights, but it's about keeping your head up. It's just about now going to the hotel, forget about this and move on.' Asked if he'd ever had a similar experience himself, the 25-year-old was quick to recall his own error in the Europa League clash against FCSB last November, where he gifted the Romanian outfit a goal just three seconds into the second-half of the game when his clearance was charged down by Daniel Bîrligea. Explaining what he did to get over the mistake that saw his side fall to a 2-0 defeat, Olafsson believes Slicker must simply get back on the horse as quickly as possible, and backed him to start for Steve Clarke's side against Liechtenstein on Monday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It probably is [the best thing for him to play again on Monday] to be honest,' said the Iceland international. 'To come into the game and know you're going to play. That's 100% the best thing, in my opinion. I had one in the Europa League game. I don't know if you've seen it. It's a pretty big mistake from kick-off, but that's how it is. Elias Rafn Olafsson in action for FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima 'People see the mistakes. You have to be strong mentally for that. You just have to be honest. It's a mistake by you. You just have to be honest and forget about it. It's a part of the game. When we make mistakes, it's very obvious — it leads to a goal. It's a bit of a different position to the outfield players. You hope you make them in training, not in the games. But you can't always. It was not his day today. It was a hard game to come into. I feel it's hard making any debut, coming in when you don't expect to come in as a goalkeeper off the bench.' His country's first ever victory on Scottish soil, the imposing 6ft 7in goalkeeper admits the win was vitally important to Iceland as he reflected on his own performance in Mount Florida and explained what surprised him most about Scotland's display. 'It's a really big one, especially with the new things we're trying to build,' said Olafsson. 'It worked out pretty well. Apart from the last 20 minutes where we fell back a little bit trying to keep the ball a little bit, it went well. It was really nice to play in front of the Scottish fans as well. It was a nice experience. It was definitely one of the most fun ones. It really was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad