Neville unsure how Amorim sets Man Utd up for daunting Liverpool clash

Gary Neville feels Ruben Amorim is stuck between a rock and a hard place as he prepares his Manchester United team to take on Liverpool.

A 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United on Monday means Amorim has lost six of his first 11 matches as United head coach, including the last four, with the club languishing in 14th place and just seven points clear of the bottom three.

The daunting prospect of a trip to Anfield to face their arch-rivals – and the Premier League leaders – is a far from ideal start to 2025.

United have struggled in this fixture in recent times, with no wins at Anfield since 2016, while some heavy defeats have included 4-0 and 7-0 drubbings in April 2022 and March 2023 respectively, with Neville acknowledging that it is the last match his former side would have wanted considering their form.

Neville told Sky Sports: “[Amorim’s] a young coach who has come over and needs time to settle in but when results are this bad it piles on the pressure and Anfield is an unforgiving place to go. It’s the worst place at the best of times.

“The form they’re in is out of this world. I have some fear for Sunday.

“I’ve no idea how they [United] approach this game on Sunday. Manchester United have found this fixture very tough in recent years. The 7-0 [in March 2023], I was there watching it to the bitter end like many Manchester United fans were.”

Neville, however, believes Amorim must stick with his preferred 3-4-3 system, even though there are doubts over whether United’s players suit the formation.

He said: “[Amorim] can’t change because he’s obviously committed to it. Every day in training he’s working on this system and he’s saying, ‘This is what we are going to do’.

“He should stick with it but the only thing I would say is he did mention he needs to get results.

“If the results continue as they are there may come a point where he has to change or do something slightly different because obviously United can’t go any lower than they currently are. They would be in danger of relegation.”

In Premier League history, four teams who were 14th at the turn of the year have then been relegated – Newcastle (2008-09), Burnley (2009-10), Norwich City (2013-14) and Leeds United (2022-23).

However, the Opta supercomputer is predicting United will finish clear of danger. They have just a 0.1% chance of going down as it stands.