Manchester United’s home Premier League campaign kicks off at 16:30 BST on Sunday, when we entertain newly promoted Ipswich Town.
The Reds will be smarting from the opening-day defeat at fellow fresh faces Hull City, while the Tractor Boys clinched an impressive win in Suffolk over last season’s surprise packages, Sunderland.
The Reds ended up on the losing side at Hull, following first-half goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy.
Later in the afternoon, 200 miles to the south, another of last season’s
promoted sides were celebrating, following Jack Clarke’s 90th-minute winner.
The former Sunderland man struck the decisive blow against his former club, after Nilson Angulo’s spectacular free-kick had levelled the scores, with Ipswich taking the lead through new striker Emersonn.
The Brazilian found an empty net after superb work from Julio Enciso, who has joined permanently from Strasbourg after a loan spell in 2024/25.
Emerson and Enciso are just two new faces, after a summer of change at Portman Road.
The headline difference from 2025/26’s promotion – the Tractor Boys finished second in the Championship, behind Coventry City – is in the dugout, where Gary O’Neil has replaced Kieran McKenna.
Our former coach stepped down in June, after four-and-a-half years at the helm, citing his wish to take a break from football and spend more time with his family.
O’Neil has overseen a significant shift in the make-up of Ipswich’s squad, with Town introducing Premier League experience in the form of former Fulham duo Issa Diop and Saka Lukic, plus Luis and ex-Leicester City winger Abdul Fatawu.
Chuba Akpom and Daezen Maeda add further quality in attack, while Dutch keeper Kjell Scherpen is the Premier League’s tallest-ever player, as he stands at six foot nine inches.
TEAM NEWS
We await further updates on Amad, who was ruled out of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at the MKM Stadium after suffering an issue during preparation for the clash with the Tigers.
“He just picked up a niggle right at the end of the week, in training,” Michael Carrick told MUTV. “We’ll assess that and see where he’s at.
“Hopefully, it won’t be too long but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Benjamin Sesko returned from injury during the closing stages in East Yorkshire, while Karl Darlow was an unused substitute.
Matthijs de Ligt continues to train as he recovers from back surgery, but he and Mason Mount – sidelined since the draw with Paris Saint-Germain on 8 August – were not involved at the weekend.
Manuel Ugarte is a long-term injury absentee, after his injury at the FIFA World Cup required a knee operation.
Sunday’s visitors handed out nine debuts at the weekend, although Florentino Luis was not amongst them, with the summer arrival from Burnley having picked up a small calf issue.
Jaden Philogene was unavailable with an ankle problem, while Jack Taylor and Azor Matusiwa are recovering from summer surgery, with the latter closing on a return
BALEBA
Manchester United made the signing of Carlos Baleba official this week after the Cameroonian midfielder completed his medical at Carrington over the weekend. However, the new midfield man is likely not ready for action just yet.
Baleba sustained an ankle injury during preseason with Brighton & Hove Albion. He missed both the UEFA Conference League Qualifier match and the Premier League opening weekend win over Aston Villa.
While the injury was not serious, Baleba is not expected to return to action until mid-September, according to a report by Sky Sports. United face Everton, Manchester City, and Fulham in September before the first international break of the season.
