Akin Ayomide
Matheus Cunha remains sidelined as Manchester United look to bounce back after a “really tough” week, manager Ruben Amorim said Friday.
United stumbled to a 1-0 home loss against 10-man Everton on Monday, ending a five-match unbeaten run that had lifted spirits at Old Trafford.
Amorim’s side were missing Cunha after the Brazil forward suffered a knock in training, compounding the absence of striker Benjamin Sesko, who has a knee injury.
Neither will be available for Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace, where experienced defender Maguire will again miss out.
“Sesko is going to take a little bit more time,” United boss Amorim said. “Harry the same. I expect to have Matheus in the next one (against West Ham on Thursday), not this one.”
The absence of Cunha and Sesko is a major blow for United, who have failed to score in their past four Premier League meetings against Palace.
Amorim’s side need to lift the mood after Monday’s embarrassing home loss to an Everton team reduced to 10 men early in the game after Idrissa Gana Gueye slapped teammate Michael Keane.
“It was really tough, the week, as it should be,” Amorim said. “It was hard this result, this defeat, but the process needs to continue, and we need to go for the next game.
“We need to understand that especially in our league this year, everything can change really fast, so let’s go again and focus on the next one.”
United are seeking just their second away win of the campaign against a Palace side unbeaten in their past 12 Premier League home matches.
Amorim’s men blew leads against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham earlier this month before snatching 2-2 draws in both games.
“It’s hard to point to one thing why we are not winning away,” said the Portuguese, whose team are 10th in the Premier League.
“There’s a lot of issues. We are improving… We need to know how to finish the games in order to win.”