Erik ten Hag is confident misfiring Manchester United have the quality to win at high-flying rivals Liverpool despite their alarming recent performances and sheer number of absentees.
The Dutchman and his rickety, confidence-sapped team are under the microscope after last weekend’s 3-0 home humbling by Bournemouth was followed by a meek midweek European exit.
United mustered just one shot on target as Tuesday’s key Champions League clash with Bayern Munich ended in a lifeless 1-0 defeat – their 12th loss of a campaign that could reach a new low on Sunday.
Ten Hag’s men are making the short trip to Anfield for the first time since being hammered there 7-0 in March, which came just a week after they won the Carabao Cup at Wembley.
United head to Liverpool in a far worse state this time around, with as many as 11 first-team players absent for a match that their under-fire manager believes his side can defy the odds in.
“They are playing good, no doubt,” Ten Hag said of Liverpool, who began the weekend top of the Premier League – 10 points ahead of their sixth-placed visitors.
“But we have had some tough games in the last period, as Bayern is also a very tough team.
“We have seen that we can go head-to-head with them and that is our challenge for Sunday as well.”
Asked if he is worried about the number of absentees he is dealing with, Ten Hag said: “We will put out a team who can challenge, who is confident to win that game.
“We are preparing the team in the best way we can. We are confident we can put out a team who can win there.”
Skipper Bruno Fernandes is suspended on Sunday and rejuvenated defender Harry Maguire has joined those in United’s packed treatment room having sustained a groin injury on Tuesday.
Ten Hag says Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford have been cleared to feature, but Anthony Martial, Victor Lindelof and Mason Mount look set to miss out once again.
Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Amad Diallo are also dealing with injuries, while Jadon Sancho remains banished from the first-team set-up.
It is an eye-watering absentee list that increases the incline on an uphill battle against Liverpool, who have won four of the past five league meetings against United – scoring at least four goals in those wins.
The 7-0 annihilation last time was a record defeat in this fixture but Ten Hag dismissed the suggestion his players may be scared of such a hiding happening again.
“I didn’t see last season that we were scared there,” the under-fire United boss said.
“It was a bad experience. But it is not similar, you start again on null.
“Last season, in the first half, I think we played very decent and we had got hammered just after half-time. Then we collapsed.
“Yes, that can’t happen, but that was last year. It was a different team with different players, for a part at least.
“We will not ignore it but we go there and we will be confident and I know my players will be confident to go there from the start to the end.
“We have to fight there, we have to challenge there and you go there with the idea, so we will prepare them with the idea to win there.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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