Manchester United vs Bodo Glimt: Amorim's Home and Europa League Debut

Ruben Amorim will make his home and Europa League debut as Manchester United manager (Instagram/@manchesterunited).

JAKARTA - Ruben Amorim will make his home and Europa League debut as Manchester United manager when they welcome Norwegian champions Bodo Glimt to Old Trafford on Friday, November 29, 2024.

Given the differences in status, history and financial strength between the two clubs, Bodo Glimt are surprisingly above Manchester United in the middle of the 2024/2025 Europa League phase.

The Norwegian club is in 12th place with seven points, while the Red Devils are in 15th place with six points from four matches played.

The record is a separate pressure for Amorim to get his troops into the direct qualification zone for the Europa League knockout phase.

The pressure to achieve maximum results in his first home game and Europa League debut is clearly there considering that Amorim's era started in a slightly disappointing way.

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by newly-promoted Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday, November 24, 2024.

After the match, the manager stated that it would be a long and difficult journey to the top for the Red Devils United, who will undergo major changes over the next nine months.

For now, the focus will be on the Europa League. Manchester United took until the fourth match to claim their first win in the group stage of the European tournament.

They beat PAOK 2-0 under Ruud van Nistelrooy, which gave the club their first win in Europe for more than 12 months.

Amorim is targeting wins in the remaining four Europa League group stage matches so that his team can get 18 points, which should be enough to take them into the last eight or direct qualification for the knockout stages.

In addition to targeting three points against Bodo Glimt, the Portuguese manager is also targeting wins against Viktoria Plzen, FCSB and Rangers in the next three matches.

The chance to achieve this target is open considering that Bodo Glimt are in less than good form. Despite winning their last league match against Odd (2-0), Kjetil Knutsen's team had never won in four matches before being hosted by Odd (two defeats and two draws in all competitions).

Moreover, the Norwegian club does not have a good record against English clubs. The last time they visited England was in the 2022/2023 season when they lost 0-3 to Arsenal.

A perfect result at Old Trafford seems very unlikely considering Manchester United's home record in the Europa League is still good.

The Red Devils have never lost at home, drawing once against FC Twente (1-1) and winning against PAOK (2-0).

Now it remains to be seen how Amorim finds a solution to Manchester United's injury problems at center-back.

Noussair Mazraoui and Jonny Evans seem forced to play in a three-man defense on either side of Matthijs de Ligt again because Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, and Victor Lindelof are still far from recovered.

Lisandro Martinez's hip problem is not as serious as previously feared. However, Amorim will save him for the match against Everton at the weekend.

Then, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte are considered not fit enough to play as starters against Ipswich. They will likely remain as substitutes again when hosting Bodo Glimt as Amorim prepares for the match against Everton.

Bodo Glimt are actually not in good shape either. Five of their mainstay players are absent, namely Omar Elabdelloaui, Samuel Burakovsky, Daniel Bassi, Gaute Vetti, and Syver Skeide.

Predicted Formations

Manchester United (3-4-3): Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Evans; Amad, Casemiro, Eriksen, Shaw; Antony, Hojlund, Fernandes

Bodo Glimt (4-3-3): Haikin; Sjovold, Nielsen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Saltnes; Zinckernagel, Hogh, Hauge