Liverpool ready to inflict more misery on reeling Man Utd

Ruben Amorim admits Manchester United are in a relegation battle and the beleaguered boss will get little sympathy from red-hot Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Manchester City’s hopes of salvaging a dismal season lie with Erling Haaland rediscovering his prolific form, while Chris Wood has emerged as the talisman of Nottingham Forest’s surprise top four challenge.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend’s action:

Survival fears haunt Manchester United
Amorim’s stunning admission that Manchester United should be concerned about relegation served to underline the huge problems facing the Portuguese coach ahead of a daunting clash with Liverpool on Sunday.

United are languishing in 14th place, only seven points above the relegation zone, after Monday’s dismal 2-0 home defeat against Newcastle.

Amorim has failed to arrest United’s alarming slide since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.

United finished 2024 by enduring five league losses in a calendar month for the first time since September 1962.

They head to Liverpool on a brutal run of four successive defeats in all competitions and six losses in their last eight games.

With Liverpool six points clear at the top after a blistering run of 23 wins from 27 games in all competitions, United fans would be forgiven for fearing a repeat on their 7-0 humiliation at Anfield in 2023.

Amorim insists he can turn the tide eventually, saying: “I know it will take a lot of hard work from everyone to get there, but I am very excited about where we can go together in 2025.”

But the former Sporting Lisbon boss conceded getting United to adapt to his preferred 3-4-3 system has not been easy.

“Of course I didn’t choose the players specifically for these positions but