Ruben Amorim said Manchester United need to ignore the Elland Road noise and focus on their performance at rivals Leeds.

A hostile atmosphere awaits the Red Devils as they kick off 2026 across the Pennines with a Premier League clash on Sunday lunchtime against Daniel Farke’s promoted side.

Leeds enter the match on a six-game unbeaten run having secured a goalless New Year’s Day draw at defending champions Liverpool and are desperate to beat Manchester United for the first time since 2010.

“I heard that it is a big derby, a great environment,” head coach Amorim said. “A big rivalry. But every game in the Premier League is tough for us, so it’s one more game.

“I know that it means a lot to the fans, but we need to go there and try to win.”

It promises to be an intense first taste of the ‘War of the Roses’ rivalry for Amorim.

The Portuguese has so far experienced clashes with Liverpool and Manchester City, having tasted the Lisbon derby as a Benfica player and then Sporting boss.

“It’s different,” Amorim said of his experiences in Portugal. “I never experienced this one.

“In Portugal it’s a big rivalry. Here’s it is the same. Different environment, different culture but the noise is going to be big. We just have to perform.

“But it’s hard to compare different cultures, different derbies, different history, so let’s just focus on the game. It is 11 guys against our 11 in the beginning and we will try to win.”

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Amorim again looks set to be without eight players as his side make the short trip along the M62.

Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt have been dealing with injuries, while Amad Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Such absentees give Leeds hope of recording a first Premier League win in this fixture since September 2002, as does their recent upturn in fortunes under Farke.

“They have a lot of pace and sometimes we struggle with pace,” Amorim said.

“They are confident, but we have proved we can win any game in any situation, in every context, so we will try to do that again.

“We know that they changed the system. They have different players in front. The last game they rotated the two players that usually are the starters.

“So, they have good players, good manager, great environment. It is going to be a tough game.”