Manchester United’s new head coach, Ruben Amorim, is set to face a tough start in the Premier League with his first five games in charge.
After being appointed as Erik ten Hag’s permanent successor earlier this month, Amorim has started his work on the training ground and will kick off his tenure with a match against Ipswich Town at Portman Road this weekend.
Following the game at Ipswich, United will face Everton at Old Trafford before tough away fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City, with a home game against Nottingham Forest in between.
According to Opta analysis, United’s fixtures have an average opponent rating of 90.8, making it one of the toughest schedules in the league. Only six other clubs have a more challenging run of games during the same period.
|
Rank |
Team |
Opponent difficulty |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Southampton |
93.1 |
|
2. |
Fulham |
92.7 |
|
3. |
Nottingham Forest |
92.3 |
|
4. |
Everton |
92.0 |
|
5. |
Crystal Palace |
91.3 |
|
6. |
Man City |
91.3 |
|
7. |
Man Utd |
90.8 |
|
8. |
Tottenham |
90.6 |
|
9. |
Leicester |
90.4 |
|
10. |
Liverpool |
90.0 |
Southampton has the toughest schedule ahead, with games against Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Tottenham in their next five matches. On the other hand, Brighton has a more favorable run, facing Bournemouth, Southampton, Fulham, Leicester City, and Crystal Palace.