Matheus Cunha remains sidelined as Man Utd aim to bounce back at Crystal Palace

By Simon Peach, PA Chief Football Writer

Ruben Amorim says Matheus Cunha remains sidelined along with Harry Maguire and Benjamin Sesko as Manchester United look to bounce back at the end of a “really tough” week.

The feel-good factor that was returning to Old Trafford came to an end on Monday evening as the Red Devils stumbled to a 1-0 home loss to 10-man Everton, ending a five-match unbeaten run.

United were without Cunha after the Brazil forward suffered a knock in training last Saturday, compounding the absence of striker Sesko with 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.”

Amorim had only expected summer signing Sesko to face a further “few weeks” out when he spoke to journalists ahead of the Everton match.

Asked if his latest remarks meant the United striker had suffered a setback, Amorim said: “No, no, no. It’s going to take a little bit longer. We are taking care of the injury.”

The absence of Cunha and Sesko damages United’s chances of getting back to winning ways at Palace, who they have failed to score against in their last four Premier League meetings.

Amorim’s side need to lift the mood after Monday’s embarrassing home loss to an Everton reduced to 10 men after just 13 minutes following Idrissa Gana Gueye’s slap on team-mate Michael Keane.

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“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 looking for just their second away win of the campaign against a Palace side unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League home matches.

Amorim’s men blew leads and then snatched 2-2 draws in their last two games on the road at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, with the Portuguese seeking more control at Selhurst Park.

“We need to do the same things that we show to the players why we lost control against Nottingham Forest, why we lost control against Tottenham,” the United boss said.

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“If you look at those games, they were there to win and then sometimes a small detail can change everything.

“Then I felt during this year that when we play at home the intensity was higher and I felt in this game at home the intensity was not at the same level, so I think it’s something that we need to work on.

“It’s hard to point one thing why we are not winning away. There’s a lot of issues.

“We are improving. Like I said, we have an advantage in the away games. We need to know how to finish the games in order to win.”