Manchester United make the trip to Leicester City on Thursday on the back of successive Premier League victories, coinciding with captain Harry Maguire dropping out of the side.
Already under pressure in some quarters following chastening defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford in his first two games in the job, Erik ten Hag made the bold call to drop his skipper – as well as star forward Cristiano Ronaldo – for the subsequent wins over Liverpool and Southampton.
After claiming six points from six and letting in just one goal across those two matches, compared to six conceded in their first two outings, Ten Hag has no real reason to integrate Maguire back into his starting line-up for the King Power Stadium clash.
With Maguire set for a watching brief from the bench against his former side, Stats Perform looks at what exactly has gone wrong for the England international, and whether there is any way back.
OLD TRAFFORD BECOMES HARRY'S HOUSE
Maguire joined United in an £80million deal from Leicester in August 2019, a fee that remains the most ever paid for a defender. With that valuation comes pressure, yet the centre-back thrived in his new surroundings and was named captain the following January following Ashley Young's move to Inter.
The 29-year-old played the full 90 minutes in each of his first 71 Premier League matches, equalling Gary Pallister's club record, though he could not quite surpass him as he was substituted in the following game against Aston Villa with a minor injury.
Put simply, Maguire was a guaranteed starter and often repaid that faith, reflected in his stats across those first two campaigns.
Between the start of the 2019-20 season and the end of 2020-21, Maguire ranked second for interceptions (132), second for duels won (443), second for successful passes (4,127) and fourth for recoveries (436) among all Premier League defenders.
THE CAPTAIN OF A SINKING SHIP
Last season was a difficult one for United and by extension Maguire, who as captain had to front up to the club's issues. The Red Devils finished with their lowest-ever Premier League points tally (58) and failed to record a positive goal difference for the first time in over 30 years.
The 57 goals United scored last season was massively down on each of Maguire's first two campaigns at Old Trafford, but even more alarmingly, they shipped a whopping 57 goals across their 38 matches – the most they have let in in a single season in 43 years.
From being towards the top of several metrics in the two campaigns prior, Maguire was nowhere to be seen in the 2021-22 campaign. The Englishman's cause was not helped by missing eight matches, though even on a per-game basis his figures dipped in a number of key areas.
The number of goals conceded per 90 minutes went from 0.95 in his first season to 1.47 last time out; recoveries dropped from 6.2 to 5.3; duels won from 6.3 to 4.7; and successful passes from 57 on average to 48.
TEN HAG'S BIG CALL
Maguire has always had his critics, but the criticism aimed his way has become much louder over the past 12 months. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, the abuse went too far in April this year when Maguire received a bomb threat at his house.
The defender's hopes of winning over the fanbase were hit by disappointing displays in United's opening two games of the current campaign, coinciding with new recruit Lisandro Martinez being integrated into the team as the left-sided centre-back.
It had become clear that change of some sort was required, and Ten Hag made a huge call prior to the Liverpool match in replacing Maguire with Raphael Varane, and it is likely that the pairing will now be given a run in the side to strengthen their partnership.
There were plenty of positives to see against Liverpool, a game in which the Red Devils kept one of the most formidable attacks relatively quiet until Mohamed Salah's 81st-minute consolation, and also against Southampton, when keeping just a second clean sheet in 15 league outings.
FINDING A BETTER BALANCE
But are United a better side without Maguire in their back-line? In the 12 league matches they have started without him since the start of last season, they have won just four for a win percentage of 33.3 per cent, compared to 46.7 per cent with him in the side across 30 games.
In terms of goals against, however, United concede 1.6 compared to 1.3 with and without Maguire respectively. Ten Hag would not just have been looking at the goals conceded column when electing to leave Maguire out of his side, of course, with plenty of other factors to take into equation.
One of the reasons Martinez was signed is because of his ability on the ball, reflected in his 92.5 passes per 90 minutes in Eredivisie last season, with an 89 per cent pass-accuracy rate.
By comparison, Maguire averaged 56 passes a match in the Premier League and found his target 86 per cent of the time. It is not entirely fair to compare figures across divisions, though Maguire also lagged behind team-mate Varane (88 per cent) in terms of passing accuracy.
NO GUARANTEES GIVEN BY TEN HAG
Ironically, the timing of Maguire being dropped coincides with the team finally signing the defensive midfielder they have been crying out for in recent years, with Casemiro bringing ample experience from his time at Real Madrid.
Ultimately, Ten Hag has to find the right balance and has landed on Varane and Martinez to help keep out the opposition and build from the back, with Casemiro operating just in front of the defence.
Just two months on from confirming Maguire would remain skipper, the Dutchman has suggested the former Leicester man will have to bide his time before being called upon again.
"It doesn't mean when you are captain you are established to always play," he said. "Especially when you also have Varane in your squad. We have options. Varane: his stature is immense and in pre-season we took a decision to build him physically so he had a bit of a slow start.
"He was fit in the first games but in the first period of pre-season he wasn't always so we are happy we built him in that way."
If Ten Hag's arrival was supposed to provide Maguire with an opportunity to kickstart his Old Trafford career and return to the previous form shown with United and England, instead it has left him at something of a crossroads amid talk of a possible move away.
Back at the ground where he truly made a name for himself, Maguire must watch on and wonder when – or if – he will get another chance to prove he has what it takes to play a part under Ten Hag.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
Ten Hag bemoans late Burnley equaliser - 'It's so unnecessary'
Erik ten Hag was left frustrated as Manchester United "gave it away" against a spirited Burnley, who held them to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils were on course to claim all three points when Antony pounced on Sander Berge's error to open the scoring in the 79th minute, as they looked to close the gap on fifth-place Tottenham to four points.
However, the hosts could not hold on as Andre Onana was penalised for a foul on Zeki Amdouni, who picked himself up to level from the penalty spot and salvage a point for the visitors three minutes from time.
Ten Hag was made to rue his side's wastefulness as they converted just one of their 27 shots on goal throughout the contest.
"We put ourselves in a winning position and, over long courses of the game, we dominated," he told the BBC. "We played some good football - creating loads of chances - and then to give it away in the end in the final minutes, it's so unnecessary.
"Every team gives up opportunities. But, when it is up to us, it is weird. We created loads of chances as well. We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment. We are creating loads of chances by playing good football.
"We lost control in the second part of the first half when we conceded some chances, but the rest of the game was ours. We were in a winning position, and we gave it away."
Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany saluted the character demonstrated by Burnley, who boosted their Premier League survival hopes by moving to within two points of safety with three games remaining.
"We are where we are in the league for a reason, so not everything can be perfect, but the mentality was perfect - the togetherness, the sacrifice for each other," the Clarets boss said.
"There is tremendous consistency in the club and the approach to each game, even in tough times. We've earned the right to believe and hope."
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