Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim faces a daunting fixture list in the Premier League over his first five games in charge.

Having been appointed Erik ten Hag’s permanent successor at the start of this month and after serving a notice period with Sporting CP, Amorim has started work on the training ground this week ahead of facing Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday afternoon.

After the trip to Suffolk, United start December by hosting Everton at Old Trafford for Amorim’s first home game. Then the difficulty ramps up with trips to Arsenal and Manchester City, either side of a visit from in-form Nottingham Forest.

Opta analysis has given United’s fixture list an average opponent rating of 90.8. Only six clubs are considered to have a more difficult run of games over the same period – that includes Manchester City, who aside from facing United, are also up against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Forest and Crystal Palace.

The toughest fixture list of any side belongs to bottom club Southampton, whose next five games are against Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham. At the other end of the spectrum, Brighton’s are the most favourable set of immediate games, facing Bournemouth, Southampton, Fulham, Leicester City and Crystal Palace.

Amorim and United fans alike will be keen to see a winning start to this reign. Results improved under Ruud van Nistelrooy’s spell as interim boss, beating Leicester (twice) and PAOK across three different competitions, as well as drawing with Chelsea.

In Portugal, Amorim’s high flying Sporting CP won 11 games on the bounce in the Primeira Liga to start the new season. They also demolished Manchester City in the Champions League, a statement result which came after his appointment at Old Trafford.

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