Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has a non-negotiable decision to make with Raphael Varane

After being crushed 4-0 by Brentford on Saturday in the scorching west London sunshine, the prospect of facing Liverpool next is not something that Manchester United fans will want to think about.

The Merseysiders made mincemeat of United last season, following up a 5-0 triumph at Old Trafford in October and a 4-0 victory at Anfield in April. They were two matches that United and their supporters would love to airbrush from history.

And just two matches into the start of the new season and a new era at Old Trafford, there are already fears that history could repeat itself again this time around, even though Liverpool have not yet got into their stride, after failing to win each of their opening two matches, with their latest setback coming in the form of a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Monday night. Despite being forced to settle for a point, Liverpool played with purpose and had a swagger about them for long spells. United have not get anywhere close to possessing either of those two qualities so far.

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Liverpool's stalemate with Palace, despite it featuring a moment of individual brilliance from Luis Diaz, will be remembered for one flashpoint and one flashpoint only: the sending-off of summer signing Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan, who was fancifully targeted by United, was dismissed on his full Premier League debut for headbutting Palace's Joachim Andersen.

The Palace defender had not left Nunez alone all night, resulting in the 23-year-old loosing his cool and leaving Liverpool an attacker light for their short trip along the M62 in just under a week's time. His absence will be a relief to United, although they will