Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and the six Manchester United stars with point to prove

It wasn't supposed to be like this for Manchester United.

In Erik ten Hag's first campaign at the helm the former Ajax manager steered United to a third-place finish as well as ending the club's trophy hoodoo. However, it has all started to unravel this term with seven defeats already in all competitions.

United were put to the sword by their treble-winning neighbours Manchester City on Sunday afternoon in a game that flagged the huge gulf between the two sides. One or two victories might help lift the mood but there is still plenty to concern United supporters on and off the pitch right now.

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Next up for Ten Hag and his misfiring team is a Carabao Cup fourth round meeting with Newcastle on Wednesday night. Here are six players who most have something to prove before that showdown and beyond.

Casemiro

An absolute rock for United after signing for £60million from Real Madrid last summer. It probably says everything that Casemiro's biggest contribution to date this season has been as an unlikely but welcome source for goals. He remains the club's top-scorer on four strikes in all competitions. Defensively the Brazilian powerhouse has looked slow, sluggish and a far-cry from the player we saw last term.

Sofyan Amrabat

Brought in to help fix long-standing problems in the engine room, Amrabat was deployed as an auxiliary left-back initially with Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Sergio Reguilon injured. That decision didn't pay off and won't have helped the World Cup hero for Morocco settle. He has been hauled off at half-time during his last two appearances while standing in for