Jamie Carragher
Former Liverpool defender on Sky Sports

Manchester United managers have had too much power. Ruben Amorim, or managers in the future, won’t get that.

The club has to make the right signings for the manager, whereas Erik ten Hag picked exactly who he wanted regardless of the money - £85m for Antony, it hasn’t worked out and that can happen. Casemiro, they shouldn’t be paying £70m for a 30-31-year-old midfielder.

Alex Keble
Football tactics writer

Image source, Opta

The man signed to close Erik ten Hag’s infamous donut - the midfield hole that opens up when United’s forwards press and defenders backtrack – has previously enjoyed success under Ruben Amorim.

Ugarte made his name at Sporting, where in 2022-23 he topped the Portuguese charts for tackles and interceptions (179) as the chief destroyer in Amorim’s double pivot.

He can be the leader on the field; the man already embodying Amorim’s tactics and inspiring others to match his intensity.

Pundit after pundit has dissected United's lack of co-ordinated pressing, with Sky's Jamie Carragher labelling Ten Hag's side as "one of the worst coached teams" he had seen.

Last season United’s opponents registered 620 transitions reaching the final third, more than any other Premier League side, reflecting the enormous gap Ugarte was signed to patch up.

By contrast, so far in 2024-25 Sporting’s passes per defensive action (PPDA), a measure of pressing intensity, is 9.5, a score bettered only by Tottenham Hotspur (7.8) and Arsenal (9.2) in the Premier League.

Just in front of Ugarte, Amorim will want a more graceful player to slalom into the next line, and here is where Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mount – hard-working and intelligent, in the Amorim mould – may come to the fore.

Manchester United began life without Erik ten Hag by thrashing Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, but will they repeat that performance when they host Chelsea on Sunday?

"I don't think United are suddenly going to hit a run of form now Erik ten Hag has been sacked," said BBC Sport's football expert Chris Sutton.

"It's more the case that Leicester game was the kind of initial bounce that we see all the time when a manager leaves.

"Maybe they will go again here, but for me there are more things pointing towards a Chelsea win."

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week 10 he takes onThe Piano TV series winner Brad Kella.

Chris Sutton's Premier League predictions for week 10

Chelsea

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on Manchester United appointing Ruben Amorim as their new head coach: "All the best to him. If the people in charge took that decision, it's because they think it's the correct one. All the best to him and Manchester United."

On former team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will take charge of United on Sunday: "I didn't speak with Ruud. I will give him a big hug on Sunday before the game. He's a fantastic guy, humble, very professional. I shared with him time when he was already finished but even then you could see how good he was."

Chelsea

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca on team news: "All the players are available but Jadon [Sancho] will be out. He has been ill in the recent days."

Sancho would have been ineligible to feature on Sunday anyway as Chelsea face his parent club Manchester United.

Martin O'Neill
Former Celtic manager on BBC Radio 5 Live

When I was the manager at Wycombe Wanderers trying to make my way, I realised that 'this was it, this was the big moment, I need to really do well here'.

I had a very clever nine-year-old daughter who used to say to me ‘dad, life will be good on a Saturday night if you can win football matches. It would be dreadful if you couldn’t’. She used to talk to me not about tactics, just ‘dad, just win’. That’s it, just win football matches.

There’s a couple of young coaches I’ve spoken to as the chairman of the League Managers’ Association, asking for wonderful advice and stuff like this. I’d say ‘just win the games. However you do it, you will have a different style to maybe your fellow coach beside you, but just win football matches and that is the nature of the game'.

Alex Keble
Football tactics writer

Image source, Getty Images

As Manchester United supporters prepare to welcome a highly-rated and talented coach from outside of Europe's 'big five' leagues who has analysts swooning, they may be worried that it all sounds a bit familiar.

But in Ruben Amorim, they can be certain that in one crucial aspect he won’t be anything like Erik ten Hag.

The defining complaint about the sacked Dutchman was that after two-and-a-bit seasons the football was still formless and the tactical direction indecipherable.

Amorim, who is set to leave Portuguese champions Sporting to move to Old Trafford, is nothing if not a diligent - and decisive - tactical thinker.

From a ruthless press to proactive possession football, from a daring high line to a complexly shape-shifting 3-4-3 formation, the hallmarks of Amorim’s football will be etched into muscle memory in detailed training sessions.

And there will be valid concerns. Most prominent will be how a Manchester United squad built in Ten Hag’s image will cope with the change to a back three and a tactical system entirely at odds with what came before. It won’t suit everyone.

With United posting a £113m net loss for 2023-24, a £15m compensation bill for sacking Ten Hag and paying at least £8m to trigger Amorim's release clause, added to the £200m spent on summer transfers, the Portuguese is not likely to have much budget for January signings.

Read Alex Keble's piece in full here

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed they will be without defender Micky van de Ven for Sunday's visit of Aston Villa: "He has strained his hamstring. It's not too serious but probably after the international break for him.

"He was disappointed, obviously, and he was looking forward to the [Manchester City] game so a bit emotional, but it's definitely not a bad one like last time, which kept him out for a while."

On other injury concerns: "The others were [Cristian] Romero and [Timo] Werner, but at the moment they still have a chance for the weekend.

"Son [Heung-min] has trained today. If he gets through training tomorrow, he should be okay."

Ruben Amorim will officially begin his role as Manchester United head coach on Monday, 11 November.

Before that, he will manage Sporting's Primeira Liga matches against Estrela Amadora (tonight, 20:15 GMT) and Braga (10 November), either side of a Champions League tie at home to Manchester City on Tuesday.

Manchester United's three matches against Chelsea (Sunday), PAOK (Thursday) and Leicester City (10 November) will all be managed by United's interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Kate Mason
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live

It's an interesting one at Manchester United because what they've done again is recruited from outside of the big five leagues, if you like.

You've got someone coming in to a club as huge as Manchester United. Trying to take it on is almost impossible to have the experience relevant to manage a football club as big as Manchester United but in Ruben Amorim's case, he called it the 'soap opera' around his potential appointment. If he thinks this the soap opera, what is he going to make of his first few weeks in charge?

Bournemouth

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on his side's confidence: "I don't think it's about confidence, I think it's about preparing as well as we can for the game against Manchester City. It's really going to be a difficult one, considering their position, but trying to give us chances. I think the game we played here last season, it can be a good reference for us. They beat us 1-0 but I think we played quite well and we have to be very similar or even better to have any chance against them."

On their record against Man City: "It's 14 games, 14 losses. There is a reason and also this year, they are unbeaten in the Premier League, top of the table. It's not just difficult for Bournemouth, it's difficult for everyone. But we have to play against them, twice a season, so we have to maximise our options, give our best and see if it's enough."

Bournemouth

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on team news: "Apart from Alex [Scott], that's a long-term injury, he will be out for more time. Kepa will not be available against [Manchester] City, Luis Sinisterra will not be available. Phillip [Billing], that was an illness, so after two, three days of feeling poorly, he's training normally with the team. I think it's also very unlikely to have Dango [Ouattara]. He felt something yesterday, I see its difficult that he is involved tomorrow."

On goalkeeper Mark Travers: "It's not a surprise for us, we know that level Mark has. I think this season the position has been quite solid. This is what [the goalkeepers] have to do. It's not a matter of I play, you play. All the goalkeepers are giving us a very good level, I hope we can continue with this in the same level."

Tactical analyst Raees Mahmood, of Pythagoras in Boots, thinks Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford could "struggle" with Ruben Amorim's style of play.

Speaking to Ben Croucher on the Football News Show, he says: "I don't think there's a natural spot".

Andy Mitten
Editor of United We Stand

I think the new manager will get a honeymoon period like all have in the post-Ferguson era. Ruben Amorim's very highly-rated, like the others have been.

I think he's got a really difficult job. It's a complex dressing room at Manchester United. The team has underwhelmed, confidence is low.

They've been starting games by playing well and been unable to follow through the manager's instructions. There's been big egos in there from all over the world. It's very difficult for a manager to go in and wrestle with a team that is underperforming.

It's a very complex dressing room at Old Trafford and multiple sources tell me the same thing. I wish the new manager well. I hope he can do the job he did at Sporting, but it's more than just about the football. The pressure is huge, you're going to get abuse from all over the world whenever you lose a match.

Expectations are high because it's such a huge football club and there's a lot of pressure that comes with that. There are players among the best paid in the world and they are not performing anywhere near that level.

Of course, we'll keep bringing you reaction to the news that Manchester United have named Ruben Amorim as their new head coach.

But we'll also be bringing you updates from his new managerial rivals as the latest batch of Premier League news conferences are set to take place.

Rio Ferdinand
Former England defender on Rio Ferdinand Presents

If Pep Guardiola had gone, I think that [Ruben] Amorim would have been someone that Manchester City were looking at. There are similarities to what Erik ten Hag was doing at Ajax but what I would say is that Amorim took a club that was on a barren spell.

[Sporting] couldn't compete with Porto or Benfica, hadn't got near to winning the league - disenchanted fanbase, turmoil behind the scenes. He went in there and immediately turned their fortunes around. He changed their style of football, style of play, and expectations.

I think the biggest difference between the two (Amorim and Ten Hag), from what I am hearing from people who have played for them but also been around, is the character and charisma compared to Erik ten Hag will be the big difference. United need someone with the character and charisma to go 'you know what, I don't care what has happened here, I see a player in you'. You need someone who is going to be like that.

This is a man who built Manuel Ugarte, who has come to Manchester United. He built a £60m player. He changed the landscape for a football club. That is not easy to do. I don't care what league you are in.

I spoke to Nani the other day and he said 'Rio, the players play for him, love him and they respect him'. He said Amorim is very straight and direct. Maybe there were inconsistencies in the way Ten Hag disciplined. You have to have clear lines when you approach these topics and players.

Image source, Getty Images