Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that Noussair Mazraoui will not feature in Sunday's Premier League clash against Brentford, with the defender's fitness being protected.
The 27-year-old has been a vital player for Man United during the 2024-25 campaign, featuring on 52 occasions in all competitions, primarily being used as one of the three centre-backs.
However, Mazraoui is currently featuring as a right-sided wing-back due to the calf injury which has sidelined Diogo Dalot.
The Morocco international played 74 minutes of Thursday's 3-0 success over Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League, and Amorim has said that the defender will not be risked for Sunday's Premier League game against Brentford.
Wholesale changes are expected this weekend, with Man United preparing for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final against Athletic at Old Trafford next week, and Mazraoui will be one of those given a rest.
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Mazraoui will not feature for Man United against Brentford
"The first thing is that the players who are in risk to get injury will not play," Amorim told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "No matter what.
"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."
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Which youngsters could be involved against Brentford?
It is not impossible to imagine Amorim making eight or nine players to his side for the trip to Brentford, with youngsters Chido Obi, Sekou Kone, Harry Amass, Bendito Mantato, Tyler Fredricson and Jaydan Kamason potentially being involved.
Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen could also potentially start, while Amorim must decide whether to hand more minutes to Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt after the pair made their injury returns off the bench against Athletic.
Matt Law
