Manchester United vs Liverpool LIVE: Team news, protest updates and Erik ten Hag interview ahead of Premier League clash

Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, confirmed that Casemiro wanted to leave the club to join Manchester United.

The 30-year-old is set to sign a four-year deal at Old Trafford as new boss Erik ten Hag finally secures the defensive midfield reinforcement he has been desperate for all summer.

United have agreed a fee in the region of €60m with Real Madrid, plus an additional €10m in add-ons.

Ten Hag said he “cannot tell anything” when asked about the Brazil international in United’s press conference on Friday, but Ancelotti was more forthcoming when speaking to the media in Spain:

Manchester United have won just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Liverpool with six draws and five defeats during that run.

Jurgen Klopp’s side could win four consecutive league meetings for the first time since 2002 and they are also looking to win three straight away league matches at Old Trafford for the very first time.

Rumours abound about Manchester United’s captain Harry Maguire, who has faced waves of criticism – of which only some is constructive – during the last couple of years with many fans considering him to be the face of the Red Devils’ decline on the pitch.

Even today, Maguire’s name is trending on Twitter five hours or so before kick off due to whispers that Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been seen training as a centre-back partnership ahead of tonight’s fixture with Liverpool.

Fans have been calling for Maguire to be dropped for a while but will Erik ten Hag leave his captain on the bench against one of United’s biggest rivals?

Anthony Martial has returned to training for the Red Devils after missing their opening two games of the season due to a hamstring injury and could provide a much needed boost to Man Utd’s attacking capabilities.

But, Victor Lindelof and Facundo Pellistri are definitely out of Monday’s match.

“Victor has not returned to the training pitch but the good news is that Anthony Martial is back in training with the team,” said Erik ten Hag on Friday.

United also announced an agreement to sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid but he will not be eligible to face Liverpool tonight.

Liverpool are set to bring Roberto Firmino back into the squad for tonight’s game amid growing concern over the number of injuries they have to their first team.

Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calvin Ramsay and Caoimhin Kelleher are all absent through various knocks illnesses leaving Jurgen Klopp to rely on youngsters like Harvey Elliott and experienced heads like James Milner.

Klopp also announced that Naby Keita is fit again anf ready to go saying: “Bobby [Firmino] trained completely normal, is ready. Naby was ill for a week, last game on the bench, is fully in training, looks really good. All fine.”

Manchester United ended a Saturday at the bottom of the Premier League for the first time since August 1992 when they lost to Brentford over a week ago.

This is the first season since the inaugural Premier League campaign in which a United team has lost their opening two fixtures.

On that occasion, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side lost 2-1 at Sheffield United on the opening day – with Brian Deane scoring the competition’s first-ever goal – and followed that up with a 3-0 home defeat to Everton.

Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag, is hoping to avoid becoming just the second United manager to lose each of his first three games in charge of the club in all competitions, after John Chapman in 1921.

It’s an unwanted milestone to hit but the Dutchman will be seeking to avoid it when his team face Liverpool this evening. The Red Devils have lost both of their opening fixtures and Ten Hag will be opening up to Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher before tonight’s match kicks off.

He’ll be speaking to the former players and current Sky Sports pundits about how he’s finding life in the Premier League and how he sees the campaign unfolding this year.

Manchester United have cancelled a planned pre-match meeting at The Lowry Hotel in Salford on Monday afternoon at short notice due to security fears.

United are scheduled to kick off against Liverpool at 8pm on Monday night against the nervous backdrop of another huge supporter-led protest against the Glazer family’s ownership of the club.

Erik ten Hag and his players were scheduled to rendezvous at the Lowry, but United are understood to have scrapped the plans at around 1pm, with a small amount of fans already outside the hotel in preparation to protest.

A source said United security staff are expecting the protest to be ‘a big one’.

The United manager and his squad could instead meet at Old Trafford, as they did before the 2pm kick-off against Brighton on the opening weekend of the season.

A behind-closed-doors game against Liverpool in May 2021 had to be postponed after fans broke into Old Trafford during a protest against the Glazers whilst others situated themselves outside the hotel the players were staying at—the Lowry—forming a barricade between team buses and chanting “we decide when you will play”.

Whilst The 1958 fan group is calling for protests against the Glazers, the official Manchester United Supporters Trust has separately branded the American family’s ownership as a “fish that rots from the head”.

A large number of supporters have been unhappy with the Glazers they bought United in 2005 via a leveraged buyout that loaded a huge debt onto the club which beforehand had been run relatively debt free. 17 years later and United’s debt stands at roughly £500m. The Glazers also take out bi-annual dividends effectively paying themselves with the clubs funds in what is another contentious issue for the fan groups.

The defeat to Brentford moved the Manchester United Supporters Trust to release a statement that was particularly strong given it is in negotiations with the club regarding a fan-share policy that is expected to be passed following a ballot last week.

The statement reads: “As we’ve always said, a fish rots from the head. And the ultimate responsibility for the terrible state of our football club must lie with its owners, the Glazer family. It is now for them and their management team to explain to United fans just why we are in this state, and what they are going to do about it. We’ve had some difficult times in the last decade, but this really does feel like rock bottom.

“We’re being asked a lot about protests at upcoming games (including Liverpool) and as we have always said we will publicise any credible, lawful and peaceful protest so that our members have the information and can make their own decision as to whether they wish to take part.

“We will announce the ballot result in the coming days and expand the consultation to ensure no fan is excluded from giving their view.”

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool should be awarded the three points if Manchester United fans’ protests cause Monday’s match at Old Trafford to be abandoned or postponed.

The 1958, a United supporters’ group, are organising a protest against the Glazer family, saying they want “to show the world our deep discontent with this vile ownership.”

Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford in May 2021, a match which was due to be played behind closed doors during lockdown, was called off because fans broke into the ground during a demonstration against the Glazers.

Klopp’s side won the rearranged fixture 4-2 but the Liverpool manager feels if there is a repeat tonight, his side should simply be given the points for the win.

“Plans for the game not happening? Yes, going home on the bus,” he said. “I really hope it will not happen but if it does happen I think we get the points.”