Manchester United fans fear the worst vs Liverpool after Ralf Rangnick issues injury update

The mood among Manchester United fans can currently be described as tense. The team is not in great form, but due to their rivals for Champions League football, Tottenham and Arsenal, also failing to find the results they need, they are only three points off fourth place.

But United do not have an easy run of fixtures in their final six games, having to play Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in successive games. Having endured draws against Watford and Burnley and a loss to Everton in recent weeks, the fanbase are right not to feel too confident.

The first of these fixtures will come against Liverpool on Tuesday night with Jurgen Klopp's team needing a win to put pressure on Manchester City in the race for the title. If that didn't already show the gap in quality between the two sides, the humiliating 5-0 defeat in the reverse fixture will.

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However, if all this build-up wasn't enough to worry United fans, the confirmation that a number of key players will be out injured could be the final nail in the coffin for any hope of victory. Ralf Rangnick confirmed that Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Edinson Cavani and Fred would all miss the game through injury.

McTominay has been playing as a makeshift defensive midfielder for much of Rangnick's interim tenure, but in his absence, both Nemanja Matic, who is the best choice for the role but has issues with his fitness, and Paul Pogba have been filling in for him. Shaw has been replaced by Alex Telles and, against Norwich, Jesse Lingard played in Fred's position in midfield.

Though it's hard for United fans to agree on what the club's current best XI is, they know for certain that