Amorim makes “luck” confession after Guardiola double as he eyes Man Utd repeat

Manchester United are hoping to do a sensational league double over bitter rivals Manchester City ahead of the Manchester Derby on Sunday – which would be the third time in a row he has beaten Pep Guardiola this season

Ruben Amorim has admitted that he will need more than luck if he is going to beat Pep Guardiola for the third time. The Manchester United boss has prevailed twice against Guardiola this season, first guiding Sporting Lisbon to a spectacular 4-1 Champions League win over the Catalan’s Manchester City side in November.

He then plotted a 2-1 derby victory for the Reds at the home of the champions the following month, when both goals came in the last three minutes.

But Amorim admitted that the key ingredient in both victories was that he enjoyed all the breaks. And he accepts that if United are going to complete the double over their bitter rivals at Old Trafford then he will have to find another way to beat the odds.

Asked what his secret is for beating Guardiola, Amorim said: “Luck! First game was lucky. In the first half, it could have been 4-0 to them – and we won 4-1.

“The second game – I think I preferred the second game when we won in the last seconds. I think they controlled the possession a little more, but we were there fighting with Manchester City. But if I have to tell you one thing, again it was maybe luck.”

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Amorim added: “Of course we now need more than luck – because the odds drop! But we are prepared for the game and we are improving in some aspects of our game. Sometimes the results are not there but we are improving – and I can see that. So let’s continue with that idea. We know we have to adapt the way we play and we are working on that to be prepared for Sunday.”

United trailed 1-0 at the Etihad with just two minutes remaining, only to leave City stunned with a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a clever winner from Amad Diallo.

Amorim is set to be boosted from a fitness point of view for the game, with Mason Mount now back in contention after playing his first minutes since December in the 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest. He also revealed Kobbie Mainoo could return to his matchday squad after being ruled out since February with a muscle problem.

However, defender Matthijs de Ligt has picked up an “issue” after suffering a knock against Forest and Amorim said he would be touch and go ahead of the derby clash.

“I think Kobbie is returning to training, so we’ll see and assess for this game already,” said our head coach. “Of course, he cannot play a full game, he’s a long time without training. I think Matta [de Ligt] has an issue. He has something during the game [at Forest] and we have to assess. I think the rest is normal.”

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