Man United, Liverpool face off in match Erik ten Hag hopes will lift his Red Devils from bottom

Man United, Liverpool face off in match Erik ten Hag hopes will lift his Red Devils from bottom

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It’s already been a cracking weekend of Premier League football, and it’s not over yet.

The standout fixture of the weekend is, in the eyes of some, Manchester United vs bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday night, live on TalkSport.

Neither side has made a good start to the season but there’s no doubt Liverpool are in a better position as a club than the Red Devils.

For Reds boss Jurgen Klopp it is yet another manager in the Old Trafford dugout he faces and joked that his club had saved a fortune by not having to pay off as many managers as their arch-rivals.

Before current boss Erik ten Hag there has been five – permanent and interim – men who have taken charge at Old Trafford since Klopp arrived in 2015. And he suggested it must have been a costly exercise.

“Imagine the money Liverpool saved from not paying them [a similar number of managers] off,” he said. “I should have said that when I signed the last contract. It would have been an interesting number.”

If anything, it makes it difficult for him to plan to play against United given the different philosophies facing him.

But the stats don’t look great for Man United, who will be looking to avoid a number of unwanted feats against Liverpool.

The Anfield side are looking to win four consecutive league games against Manchester United for the first time since January 2002, and are looking to win three straight away league games against them for the first time in their history.

A defeat for Man United will see them first three league games for only the fourth time in their history, the last coming in the 1986/87 season. Erik ten Hag would become just the second Red Devils manager to lose each of his first three matches in charge of the club since John Chapman in 1921.

Losing to Liverpool would also consign them to a fifth league defeat in a row, which they haven’t managed since March 1972.

And a goal for Mohamed Salah will make him become the first Liverpool player in the club’s history to reach double figures against Man United.

In addition, the game on Monday night will be played amidst increasing supporter unrest. Around 10,000 fans are thought to be planning to march before kick-off against owner Joel Glazer, but there will be fears splinter groups will try and disrupt the match.

When Liverpool visited Old Trafford in 2021, fans entered the closed stadium, which was shut due to the Covid pandemic, and forced its abandonment.

The recently formed United supporters’ group, The 1958, is planning further protests against the Glazers but, should there be a repeat of that previous disruption, Klopp believes Liverpool should be handed the points for a win.

“I really hope it will not happen but if it does happen I think we should get the points,” he said.

“We have nothing to do with the situation and if the supporters want the game not happening then we cannot just rearrange the game again and fit it in somewhere in an incredibly busy season.

“I don’t think it will and I really hope this won’t happen – I have no idea what could happen and I don’t think about it. People tell us we are fine, we go there and play the game hopefully and go home. But in a situation like this always the other team should get the points because they have nothing to do with it and they have prepared for it.”

TalkSport’s Tony Cascarino believes Man United will one day come back, but it won’t be any time soon.

Speaking on The Weekend Sports Breakfast, he said, “United as a football club will come back. They will have new owners one day and it will be different – just not at present.

“It feels like this club is run so badly that every area of the football club is going backwards. I don’t work at the club or Carrington training ground but all I see is failure on every level. I don’t even get a vibe of an exciting youth team or young players who are coming through. It seems like everyone that’s joining that football club is signing massive deals.”

But for those 90+ minutes come 8pm on Monday, all these problems will be away from the minds of the Man United players as their sole focus is on getting the points and bragging rights against their oldest foes.

  • A TalkSport report
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