Old Trafford turmoil sets up a fascinating Anfield test for Liverpool
Liverpool’s next opponents arrive at Anfield in upheaval. Manchester United have dismissed Michael Carrick, and the numbers make it hard to call that a shock. Ten league games, one win, 18th in the table. No amount of goodwill survives that.
The axe fell during the international break. United’s official line was that a change had become necessary after a disappointing opening to the campaign, which is one way of describing a run that included a 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth, a 2-0 loss at Chelsea and a 4-1 hammering away to Como in the Champions League.
Even the latest point felt like a symptom. United trailed Aston Villa 2-0 and then 4-2 before late goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu salvaged a 4-4 draw. Entertaining, yes. Reassuring, not remotely.
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From saviour to sacked in under six months
The speed of the turn is striking. Carrick stepped in back in January after Ruben Amorim left, steadied the ship and steered United to third place and a Champions League return. That earned him the job permanently, and in May he put pen to paper on a deal running to 2028. It lasted just 173 days.
United have not been this low after ten top-flight fixtures since 1986-87. For a club spending at their level, that is damning.
The man expected to pick up the pieces is Mauricio Pochettino. An outline agreement is understood to be in place with the current United States head coach, and a framework has reportedly been settled with US Soccer. His recently extended contract contains a $10m release clause, and the expectation is that he will be in the dugout for the trip to Anfield, although nothing had been formally announced at the time of writing.
Rashford could be back to haunt us
There is also a potential lift for United on the injury front. Marcus Rashford has started a fresh treatment plan, and the club are optimistic he could be in contention. He saw a groin specialist in Dublin last week and his recovery programme has been reworked.
Rashford came back to Old Trafford in the summer after a season on loan at Barcelona, carrying a hip problem picked up at the World Cup. He played in United’s first six league games, the Carabao Cup tie with Brighton and the Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid in mid-October, before the issue flared up again and spread to his groin. He has sat out the last six matches.
From a Liverpool perspective, we would rather he stayed on the treatment table. Rashford has seven goals against us across his career, including in FA Cup wins for United in 2021 and 2024.
Our view ahead of the visit
A struggling rival with a new manager is never as simple as it looks. New bosses often bring an immediate jolt, so Liverpool cannot treat this as a gift.
Still, whoever takes charge inherits a fragile squad, a dreadful table position and almost no time to fix either. If Liverpool start fast, we should be confident of winning.
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