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Ruben Amorim has hinted at heavy rotation before Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club

Ruben Amorim will “risk” plenty of changes for Manchester United against Brentford this weekend despite their emphatic lead in the Europa League semi-finals.

Despite that huge advantage, Amorim was at pains to stress that the semi-final tie is not yet over, meaning you would think he would heavily rotate his team again this weekend ahead of next Thursday’s second leg in Manchester, with United still sitting down in 14th place with nothing to play for in the Premier League after an abject domestic campaign.

He went much stronger than expected for last week’s last-gasp 1-1 draw at Bournemouth ahead of the first leg against Athletic, with Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo the only players who started on the south coast who were not then named in the XI in Spain as Victor Lindelof and Manuel Ugarte both returned.

However, Amorim admitted after Thursday’s win that some of his players had reached their physical limit with a number of changes now expected, including a rest for Noussair Mazraoui.

"The first thing is that the players who are in risk to get injury will not play," said Amorim. "No matter what.

Jaydan Kamason was a key member of the Manchester United team that reached the FA Youth Cup semi-finals

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"We need to take a risk in [doing] that. And then we are going to assess tomorrow [Friday] and the next day, who are the best players to start the game.

"Then we have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game. So the process is going to be like that. It's going to be tough, but we pass so many things this year. It's one more. Let's see.

"There are some positions that we don't have more players. For example, Nous Mazraoui cannot play. He's in the limit to get an injury.

"So we are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that they won today and is in a great moment. And we have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility to offer the result. But in this moment, we have to be clear. Our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive.

"It’s not a good thing to say, but we need to understand the context.”

Amorim got a key boost in Bilbao with Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt both returning from injury off the bench, with Altay Bayindir also back in the squad.

However, young duo Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer remain sidelined along with long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot, who won’t play again this season. Jonny Evans has also yet to return.

With Dalot out and Mazraoui rested, highly-rated 18-year-old wing-back Jaydan Kamason could be in line for his senior United debut at Brentford, while fellow teenager Tyler Fredricson will hope to feature again after playing 90 minutes in defence against Wolves last month.

Chido Obi and Sekou Kone are ineligible for the Europa League but both travelled to Spain anyway as Amorim conducted a Friday training session involving several youngsters ahead of Brentford, with the likes of Harry Amass and Bendito Mantato unused substitutes in Bilbao along with Kamason and Fredricson.

Predicted Manchester United XI: Onana; Fredricson, De Ligt, Shaw; Kamason, Ugarte, Eriksen, Amass; Mainoo, Mount; Obi

Doubt: Evans

Injured: Martinez, Zirkzee, Dalot, Heaven, Collyer

Rested: Mazraoui

Time and date: 2pm BST on Sunday May 4, 2025