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## Amorim's Conviction Faces Familiar Test as Manchester Giants Falter

 

The eagerly anticipated Manchester derby between Manchester City and Manchester United carries a paradoxical air. While past clashes between Guardiola and Mourinho symbolized a global footballing rivalry, the upcoming encounter between Guardiola and Amorim arrives at a time when both teams are experiencing a decline and continuous transitions.

## Amorim's Conviction Faces Familiar Test as Manchester Giants Falter

## Amorim's Conviction Faces Familiar Test as Manchester Giants Falter

Pep Guardiola's first Manchester derby pitted him against a Portuguese manager and featured a goalkeeper making his debut. Nine years later, there are some striking, if superficial, similarities. In Sunday's match, Guardiola will face Rúben Amorim, whom the Catalan coach, in contrast to the bitterness that characterized his rivalry with José Mourinho, smilingly describes as "the best manager in the league.

• " The new goalkeeper who might start for Manchester City could be Gianluigi
•  Donnarumma, but it won't be Senne Lammens with Manchester United, as
•  Amorim has decided that error-prone Altay Bayindir will play instead.

### A Fundamental Departure from Previous Derbies

 

However, there's a fundamental difference. Guardiola's showdowns with Mourinho once heralded Manchester's transformation into the football capital of the world. Tomorrow's match, by contrast, may begin with both teams languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Amorim remarked, "The current standings don't matter.

1. " Yet, for the first time since 2020, United will enter the derby ahead of City
2.  in the table. This, in turn, reflects the fact that City, for the first time since the
3.  2004-2005 season, has lost two of its first three league matches. United,
4.  meanwhile, enters the fixture having finished last season with their worst
5.  league standing in half a century.

 

Both teams, depending on interpretation, can be considered either in a transitional phase or in a state of decline, appearing more vulnerable than usual. 

City will be without the injured Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki, while John Stones' participation remains doubtful. United, on the other hand, has lost Diogo Dalot, Mason Mount, and Matheus Cunha. The tactical plans of both managers will necessitate significant reordering.

 

United has spent around £250 million (approximately $338.92 million) in 2025, bringing in seven players. City has spent closer to £350 million (approximately $474.49 million), acquiring 12 players. Both clubs are, therefore, rebuilding their squads under the guidance of allies with a background in interior design—or rather, their wives.

 

### The Friendship of Amorim and Hugo Viana

 

Amorim and Hugo Viana were teammates as players, and then manager and football director at Sporting Lisbon. Their wives are so close that they jointly run an interior design company. They transcend the Manchester divide to maintain their closeness. Amorim stated, "We have different jobs, and we have different clubs. We have dinner together all the time. We don't talk about football. I am red, and he is blue. But we are very, very close friends. And that will not change."

 

• Amorim could have been blue as well. When City signed Viana, many
•  assumed he would be their next manager. This might have given United a
•  greater sense of urgency in their pursuit of the Portuguese coach. So far,
•  Amorim has achieved better results with Viana in building his squad
•  compared to United's multiple power brokers. Nevertheless, the United
•  manager seems confident, at least, that his friend's knowledge of his ideas
• and methods will not impact Sunday's derby. He commented, "It has no
•  impact."

 

### Amorim's Successes at the Etihad

 

However, his best Premier League result came at the Etihad Stadium, a 2-1 victory in December 2024, after an error from Matheus Nunes, a former player under Amorim and Viana at Sporting, allowed Amad Diallo to lead a successful late attack.

 

1. If that victory wasn't entirely convincing, it also wasn't the start of a sustained
2.  run for United under Amorim. The team immediately lost their next four
3.  matches across all competitions, and then six of the subsequent nine Premier
4.  League games.

 

Now, Amorim approaches his second trip to the Etihad with United amid clearly mixed results. The Carabao Cup exit against Grimsby represented a low point in his tenure, yet he maintains the conviction that his reshaped squad has improved since then.

 

"I think we are a better team," he said. "In every aspect, if you look at the data, we are a different team. We are ready to play the match. But we have to show it on the field." This was an acknowledgment that words alone are not enough, nor are impressive statistics, despite United having the highest number of shots in the Premier League this season.

 

They are accustomed to topping more prestigious tables. However, the attacking threat is perhaps diminished by the absence of Cunha and Mount, leaving Amorim with decisions such as whether to field Bruno Fernandes, Amad, or both together in a front three for the first time in the league since £200 million (approximately $271.14 million) was spent on other attackers, and whether to give Benjamin Sesko his first Premier League start.

 

### The Fear of Breaking a Historic United Tradition

 

There's another element related to selections: after the sale of Alejandro Garnacho and the loan of Marcus Rashford, and Kobbie Mainoo's desire to follow suit, Manchester United's continuous streak of including an academy player in every matchday squad, dating back to 1937, seems threatened during Amorim's reign.

 

1. "I don't want to be the man who broke that record," he stated. "If you look at
2.  the history of Manchester United, you will find that it was built on players
3.  who grew up here and stayed here for a long time. I think that should be our
4.  goal in the future."

 

There is also another objective of a local nature: United has not finished a season as the best team in Manchester since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. Nor have they finished a season 12 places behind City until last season. However, Amorim's results have shown that his problems have been less with City, Liverpool, and Arsenal, and more with the broad spectrum of financially formidable mid-table clubs.

 

They can show a challenging spirit when in the underdog position. "We will be ready against a very, very good team," Amorim concluded. But the long-term task remains to make United a very good team once again.