Manchester United will be hoping to bounce back from their rough start to the season when they lock horns with Liverpool on Monday night. Erik ten Hag has suffered a shambolic start to his Old Trafford reign, with Brentford and Brighton both putting his side to the sword. Next up, Jurgen Klopp’s side…
Manchester United were played off the pitch in both matches against Liverpool last season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in the dugout when the Red Devils lost 5-0 to the Reds back in October, with Mohamed Salah running riot with a memorable hat-trick.
And Ralf Rangnick was in charge when United lost 4-0 to Liverpool in April at Anfield.
United are yet to kick on under Ten Hag and know that, if they fail to pick up all three points, the pressure and scrutiny will be set to intensify.
So Express Sport will now take a look at three changes we’re expecting the Dutchman to make as he looks to finally get a first Premier League win under his belt.
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Harry Maguire out and Raphael Varane in
United have given Harry Maguire the benefit of the doubt so far this season, starting the England international despite his erratic performances for club and country.
But with Liverpool up next, now is the time to make a change.
It emerged earlier in the week that Ten Hag was considering dropping Maguire, despite backing the former Leicester star to come good and prove he deserves to be club captain.
Should that happen, Raphael Varane will likely partner Lisandro Martinez at the back.
Martinez had a stinker last time out against Brentford but, given he’s trusted by Ten Hag from their spell at Ajax together, we’re expecting him to keep his place. When Victor Lindelof returns, however, it could be a different story.
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Bruno Fernandes out and Scott McTominay in
United fans seem to detest the midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay.
Yet the Red Devils are tougher to beat with the duo in the side. McTominay was benched for the match with Brentford and Ten Hag appeared to regret that decision when he introduced the Scotland international in the second half.
Bruno Fernandes could now potentially be the fall guy.
The Portugal international has lost all of his magic in recent months and is a far cry from the player he initially was when he moved from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
Taking Fernandes out, and pairing ‘McFred’ together, could be the way of ensuring Liverpool don’t exploit the Red Devils’ weaknesses in the middle of the park.
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Cristiano Ronaldo out and Anthony Martial in
Cristiano Ronaldo being dropped is something that once seemed unfeasible.
But with Anthony Martial now fit again, it’s possible the Portugal international will find himself on the bench.
Martial delivered the goods during pre-season, scoring four goals, and appeared to also coax the best from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
Ronaldo is a great of the game but United, with a slicker front three, can pose Liverpool far more problems that way.
It would also send a message to the rest of the squad that Ten Hag won’t tolerate players not heeding his words behind the scenes.
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Ten Hag previews Liverpool clash
Speaking ahead of United’s showdown with Liverpool, Ten Hag admitted he was looking to see more fight from his players.
“I was definitely not happy,” he said, referring to the 4-0 defeat against Brentford last week.
“The basic stuff has to be good and that has to start with the right attitude.
“You need fighting spirit on the pitch and I didn’t see it from minute one.
“The players didn’t play good, a lot went wrong. You don’t have to talk about anything [tactical] when the attitude is not right.”
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