Manchester United fans are in for a long season unless there’s a significant improvement on their early form.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men lost away at Newcastle United before the international break, adding to their defeats to West Ham and Crystal Palace.
The Red Devils have won just two of the first eight Premier League matches, leaving them in 12th position with a five-point gap between themselves and the top four.
It’s an alarming situation given the Red Devils have only faced two of the so-called big six with which they’re meant to competing for a Champions League place.
All things considered, it’s not a good time to be hosting Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool side at Old Trafford this Sunday.
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The visitors are huge favourites to win the once potentially title-deciding fixture, though such a result could have dire consequences for United this time around.
If Solskjaer’s team do suffer their fourth defeat of the campaign by two goals or more, a series of other results will see them drop into the relegation zone.
Here are the required outcomes for United slip into 18th place.
- United lost to Liverpool by two goals or more
- Everton beat West Ham
- Southampton beat Wolves
- Newcastle beat Chelsea
- Aston Villa draw with Brighton
If you told a United fan in 2013 their club would be struggling to escape the bottom three in six years’ time, they would’ve laughed in your face.
But this is the reality Solskjaer faces - not that he’s shying away from the challenge.
When asked if he’s still the right man for the job, the Norwegian replied, per the Daily Mail: “No, I've never felt it's too big for me.
“I'm confident in what we're trying to do and with my staff, I've been so impressed. The improvement is there to see.
“We need to start winning games, start scoring goals and we need to create more chances because at the back we've looked solid.
“But we haven't been adventurous enough and taken enough risks. The best teams around take more risks and more runs in behind.
“Maybe the boys when they lose confidence they play safe and it's my duty to say it's not safety.”
You’ve got to hand it to Solskjaer, he’s still as cool as ever under pressure.