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Manchester United v Sunderland: Preview, Team News and Predicted XIs

United seek recovery at Old Trafford as Sunderland arrive after a strong return to the Premier League

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Manchester United return to Old Trafford searching for a response when newly promoted Sunderland visit. United’s inability to beat Brentford means they are still awaiting back-to-back Premier League victories under Amorim, yet a win on Saturday would secure a third successive home victory.

Sunderland have started the season strongly on their return to the top flight. They sit fifth after six league games, with three wins and two draws, and arrive at Old Trafford for the first time since December 2016. The Black Cats have taken positive results early on, including a 1–0 victory at Nottingham Forest and a 2–1 success over Brentford.

Recent form (selected results): Brentford 3–1 Man Utd (27/09/25); Man Utd 2–1 Chelsea (20/09/25); Man City 3–0 Man Utd (14/09/25); Man Utd 3–2 Burnley (30/08/25). Sunderland: Nottingham Forest 0–1 Sunderland (27/09/25); Sunderland 1–1 Aston Villa (21/09/25); Crystal Palace 0–0 Sunderland (13/09/25); Sunderland 2–1 Brentford (30/08/25).

Team news for United sees Amad Diallo and full back Tyrell Malacia back in training. The former missed the defeat at Brentford due to a family bereavement but will be available to play against the club he once dazzled with on loan. Casemiro is available for selection after serving his one-match suspension at Brentford and is likely to return to the starting XI. Noussair Mazraoui is missing and long-term absentee Lisandro Martínez remains absent.

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Man Utd predicted lineup vs. Sunderland (3-4-2-1): Bayındır; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Šeško.

Sunderland will be without Reinildo as he serves a three-match suspension. Habib Diarra, Dennis Cirkin, Romaine Mundle, Aji Alese and Leo Hjelde are also absent. Arthur Masuaku is expected to continue in place of Reinildo. Wilson Isidor leads the line with three Premier League goals so far and Granit Xhaka’s experience will be important to Sunderland’s hopes of leaving Old Trafford with a positive result.

Predicting which iteration of United will appear is difficult given their inconsistency, but home form and an attacking group featuring Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško give the Red Devils a clear route to try to unlock Sunderland’s defence.

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Šeško Nears Return as United Seek Cover During Busy Winter

Agent says Benjamin Šeško is close to returning after nearly a month out, offering relief to United.

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Benjamin Šeško, the 22-year-old summer signing, is close to returning from an injury that has kept him out for almost a month, his agent Elvis Basanovic has said. Basanovic told Arena Sport that the striker’s rehabilitation is progressing well and that a comeback could be only days away.

“Benjamin [Šeško] is feeling very good, his rehab is going as planned,” Basanovic said, via ESPN . “He’s really eager to return to the pitch, he misses playing.

“He’s missing games and he’s a bit impatient, so hopefully he’ll be back soon and be where he feels most comfortable. But I think we’ll see him very soon on the field, perhaps even sooner than it might seem at this moment.”

Šeško had been in the early phase of adjusting to the Premier League when the setback interrupted his momentum. His imminent availability comes at a timely moment for Manchester United, with fellow attacking summer signing Bryan Mbeumo bound to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations within the next week.

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United face a congested winter programme and the return of Šeško would increase manager Amorim’s options during a demanding period on the calendar. Having another forward fit and ready would help the manager rotate and cope with absences across competitions.

Basanovic also urged patience while praising the manager who played a role in the transfer. “I must say he [Amorim] received Benjamin excellently,” Basanovic said. “I think Ruben first of all is an excellent person with fantastic charisma, extremely intelligent, emotionally intelligent and I think he knows what he’s doing.

“It’s not easy to build such a project that requires enormous knowledge and intelligence. United is one of the biggest clubs in the world , if not the biggest and people don’t understand you need time.

“He is a manager with his own vision to bring United to the top, but he definitely needs time.” The Portuguese manager has also asked fans to be patient after Šeško’s difficult start to life in England.

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Amorim admits uncertainty over De Ligt after he misses matchday squad despite 4–1 win

Amorim confirms uncertainty over Matthijs de Ligt’s return after he missed the Wolves match. today.

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Manchester United secured a 4–1 victory over the Premier League’s bottom side, but the result was accompanied by fresh concern after centre back Matthijs de Ligt failed to make the matchday squad.

Manager Ruben Amorim had initially been optimistic about the injury suffered by the Dutch international, but that optimism appears to have been tempered by De Ligt’s absence from the Wolves fixture. Amorim selected two natural full backs, Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui, to operate in central defence alongside young Ayden Heaven. Lisandro Martínez, still getting back to full fitness, and Leny Yoro were named among the substitutes.

Asked for an update on De Ligt’s condition, Amorim refused to offer a timeline for a return. “I don’t know, sometimes you have an idea and then you have to see day by day,” Amorim conceded. “I am not going to say when he is coming back.” Those comments underline the uncertainty surrounding a player who was not available for selection on Monday.

United’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed briefly against Wolves, with the hosts — who have two points from 15 games this season — managing to score only their eighth goal of the campaign to level the match at 1–1 by half-time. It was not, however, an accurate reflection of United’s overall control of the game.

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Amorim used his interval team talk to underline that point and praised his players for their reaction after the break. “I’m feeling good,” Amorim reflected. “I think we played well, most of the time. I think we disconnected a little bit after the first goal, that hurt us. But in the second half, everyone felt we were there to win the game and that was a good feeling.

“It’s really good that [fight in the second half], but we need to be concerned about how we concede a goal when we have full control of the game. We are so near to score a second goal to kill, a little bit, the game. But I’m pleased with the response after half-time.

“It was so clear we are dominating the games but not finishing the plays as we should do. We need to be better in the details. [I was] trying to explain to the players we have 45 minutes to win the three points that are crucial for our life.”

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United climb to sixth after convincing 4-1 win at Wolves

United 4-1 Wolves; Fernandes brace, Mbeumo and Mount scored. United level with Chelsea on points…

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Manchester United produced a commanding 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, a result that moves the visitors up to sixth in the Premier League table. Bruno Fernandes scored twice and was deeply involved in United’s attacking play, while Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount also found the net. Wolves’ goal came from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, the hosts’ first Premier League goal since October.

The match swung quickly. United took the lead when Matheus Cunha dispossessed André and set up Fernandes, who turned away from Emmanuel Agbadou to finish off an improvised move. Wolves responded in first-half stoppage time when a throw-in developed into a David Møller Wolfe delivery finished by Bellegarde.

United’s response after the interval was rapid. Luke Shaw won the ball inside his own half and United moved forward; Cunha played in behind to Diogo Dalot, whose cross found Mbeumo to restore the lead. Mount extended the advantage with a volley from a lofted through ball by Fernandes. The Portugal international completed the scoring from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute after Yerson Mosquera was penalised for handball.

United finished the match with a clear statistical advantage: 60 percent possession, 14 total shots and five on target, compared with Wolves’ 40 percent possession and three shots. The visitors created the better chances and controlled large portions of the game as they took the three points back to Manchester.

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Individual performances were notable. Fernandes was the standout with a 9.4 rating, Mbeumo earned an 8.5, and Matheus Cunha registered 8.0 for his contributions in the build-up. Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot both received 7.9, Casemiro 7.3 and Mason Mount 7.4. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens was given 6.9. Among substitutes, Lisandro Martínez was rated 6.5, Leny Yoro 6.6 and Kobbie Mainoo 6.1; Patrick Dorgu and Joshua Zirkzee were listed N/A.

The result leaves United level on points with fourth-place Chelsea ahead of their clash with Bournemouth at Old Trafford next Monday.

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