Manchester United return to action this Sunday with this season’s first instalment of the Manchester derby.
After United defeated Burnley in stoppage time before the international break, Manchester City lost 2-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion, their second straight loss after losing 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur the week before.
As a result, you would think that United would have a tiny advantage when they visit the Etihad this weekend, especially considering that they defeated their bitter rivals 2-1 in the closing minutes the last time they played there.
United secure late window coup of Senne Lammens
Given how drastically the Reds’ performances have changed since 2025–2026 began, Ruben Amorim must make some important choices regarding the starting lineup he will use.
For instance, after switching from Royal Antwerp last Monday, supporters are already wondering if deadline-day signing Senne Lammens will be given his debut as soon as possible.
His arrival followed a transfer window during which United insisted on not acquiring a new goalkeeper. But it was before Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana’s unsatisfactory performances forced INEOS to take action or risk having a campaign characterized by mistakes in goal.
Onana has since green-lit a season-long loan to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor, while Bayindir will presumably have been made aware behind the scenes that he’ll no longer be Amorim’s first choice after starting each of the side’s three league fixtures thus far.
Amorim urged to omit Bayindir vs City
n the matches, the former Fenerbahce man conceded four goals. He came under fire following the opening-day loss to Arsenal when he was deemed far too weak from an early corner that would eventually lead to the Gunners’ winning goal.
Amorim has since been warned he must drop Bayindir for such high-profile fixtures via Craig Burley, who told ESPN: “Altay Bayindir, they can’t play him.
“He might be okay at shot-stopping which is what goalkeepers are paid for but he’s absolutely useless at dealing with balls in from set-pieces.
“This new lad (Lammens) needs to be able to marshal a back four, make saves and have authority and make a statement at set-pieces.
“That’s what every team is going to do against United now, they’re going to launch balls into the box and the goalkeeper needs to be able to deal with it.
“He’s either going to sink or swim. We don’t really know how he’s going to handle this scenario.”
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