Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim expects his squad to rise to the challenge posed by the absence of three key individuals to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Noussair Mazraoui has already missed the 4-4 draw with Bournemouth, after hosts Morocco insisted on his exit prior to Monday's Premier League game, with Amad (Ivory Coast) and Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) also now departing for the tournament.
While admitting his side will have to play a little differently, losing the rare ability Amad and Mbeumo have to dribble past their markers, the boss insists everybody is ready for the start of a busy festive period, away to an Aston Villa team that have won their last nine games, in all competitions.
In his exclusive pre-match chat with MUTV's Mark Sullivan at Carrington, Ruben also outlined what Benjamin Sesko brings to the frontline, with the Slovenia international making his comeback from a knee injury in the draw with Bournemouth, helping to set up Matheus Cunha's goal, our fourth of a crazy night at Old Trafford.
“We need to play a little bit different,”
he explained. “We lost some one-against-one. We will see but we'll be ready for the game.
”It's perfect, it's not perfect as we don't have all the players, but we are ready. We have players that can solve the game for us, so are happy with that.
“Yes [we have lost Amad and Mbeumo] and also Nous,”
Ruben continued. “So Nous is also really important for us but, when one player is out, we have opportunities for other players.
”Last year, in some games, we managed to win, especially in Europe, without Amad. Bryan was not here, so we already have those moments of difficulty. So we are ready, more than ready, to cope with that.“
Sesko's return will be important as the boss ponders his options for the 16:30 GMT kick-off.
“I think he is a different type of striker,”
said Amorim. “The only one in that part because Josh [Zirkzee] is more like a no.9 and 10 at the same time, a little bit like Cunha. Ben is a guy who likes to be in the box. He makes a lot of runs.
”Of course, if you look at him, you can feel that he has so much more to give. He is improving the physicality, he was one month without playing, but he is ready and he is going to help us.“