Manchester United welcome Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as they look to improve both on and off the pitch as pressure mounts on Erik Ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Pressure is once again firmly on Erik ten Hag as Manchester United look to salvage something from their season following their 4-3 defeat against Chelsea.
United’s boss has been provided with the perfect opportunity to get fans back onside if he can mastermind a victory over Liverpool on Sunday. The Red Devils welcome Jurgen Klopp’s team to Old Trafford hoping to earn a second positive result in as many games against the Reds this term.
Ten Hag led his side to a 4-3 victory over United’s rivals in March with Amad’s goal in stoppage time of extra time ensuring progression to the FA Cup semi-final. The 13-times Premier League champions sit 22 points behind Liverpool in the league however. and will likely enter the fixture as underdogs.
With the final preparations underway for the afternoon’s fixture, Mirror Football looks at some of the biggest United headlines.
Dressing room split over Ten Hag position
Ten Hag has left some players raising their eyebrows as he attempts to build a siege mentality at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has continued to assert there is no issue with his methods in addition to noting he has been given no support from the new regime being put into place by.
Crucially, he also does not accept he could already be on his way out of the club after signing a series a players who have underwhelmed amid a testing second season. Ten Hag believes Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group have concentrated their efforts on building a new executive structure rather than looking at the problems on the pitch.
United strike first
There is no shortage of anticipation ahead of this afternoon’s match but United have already struck the first blow in the rivalry. Saturday saw Man United and Liverpool’s under-18 sides face-off.
Ethan Wheatley’s hat trick helped inspire a 9-1 thrashing of their opponents away from home. James Scanlon opened the scoring after just one minute and United never looked back.
Wheatley, who was on the receiving end of a punch and an elbow from Liverpool’s Luca Furnell-Gill in an earlier meeting of the sides, was able to enjoy the afternoon more than most. The youngster trolled his opponents by referencing the incident in celebration as he replicated Wayne Rooney’s famous ‘knockout’ celebration.
Exit decision made
As United look to cement their new footballing hierarchy at Old Trafford and continue negotiations to land Dan Ashworth from Newcastle and Jason Wilcox from Southampton, another decision has been made.
It appears the expected new arrivals will spell the end of the club’s football director John Murtough. The 53-year-old was appointed as the club’s first-ever football director back in 2021.
The Athletic report that having initially considered a reduced role, it appears an exit is now set in place.
