Six players could miss Man Utd vs Sunderland clash

Manchester United host Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon in what looks set to be a pivotal clash for under-pressure Ruben Amorim

Manchester United and Sunderland look set to be missing six key players between them when they lock horns at Old Trafford. Beleaguered United manager Ruben Amorim is in desperate need for a victory against the newly promoted Black Cats.

Meanwhile, Regis Le Bris' side are enjoying an impressive return to the Premier League. Many tipped them for relegation, but they are currently in a battle for Champions League football, albeit it's still early days.

United suffered a crushing 3-1 defeat to Brentford at the G-Tech Community Stadium last weekend, whilst Sunderland secured a vital 1-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Currently, United sit just three points above the drop zone, despite spending more than £200million on players in the summer transfer window.

Sunderland may sense an opportunity, though they haven't triumphed at Old Trafford since May 2014, when Sebastian Larsson netted the decisive strike in a 1-0 victory on the season's penultimate day. However, Sunderland have received encouraging news ahead of the fixture.

Addressing the media on Thursday, Le Bris revealed Nordi Mukiele is fully fit and ready to feature against United. The French boss said: "Nordi is fine, he's OK. We have no new injuries."

Le Bris added: "With Romaine [Mundle] and Dennis [Cirkin], there is no definite date for their return to play. We think it will probably be a month, maybe a month and a half.

"With Leo [Hjelde] and Aji [Alese] it is similar. Leo is back running, with Aji there was a very small injury so he took a little step back. Probably one month for each."

Looking ahead to stepping out at Old Trafford, Le Bris added: "Being at Old Trafford demands strong personality and strong character. I still believe that we'll need to upgrade our performance to be competitive in Manchester.

"They are strong, create many chances from everywhere, direct play in behind, set pieces, with talented players. Now it's just a question of click, confidence, circumstances, scenario.

"So for us the only thing we can control is our way of playing, the way we want to play this game, to face this challenge, being aware that it will be tough."

However, United are expected to be missing two key players: Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez. Discussing team news before the Brentford fixture last week, Amorim revealed World Cup winner Martinez will be out until after the upcoming international break.

The latter continues to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament problem he picked up back in February. Martinez has recently begun partial training sessions at Carrington as he works towards his comeback at the end of the year.

Amorim will, though, have Casemiro available again after the midfielder sat out the west London reverse last week through suspension, plus Amad, who was granted compassionate leave following a family bereavement. Daniel Armer might also earn a squad place, having joined first-team training on Wednesday.