Both Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag, the managers of Manchester United and Liverpool, believe their teams will advance to the Champions League.
United should finish in the top four of the Premier League with nine points needed from their final four games—three of which will be played at Old Trafford—but they failed to defeat relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday.
Ten Hag and his team are facing a stressful finish to the season as a result of the 1-0 loss at the London Stadium.
Liverpool is behind by one point despite having played one extra game. Importantly, though, Liverpool has won six straight games while United has won just once in their previous four.
Related: Manchester United Suffers Second Loss In A Row To West Ham United
After Liverpool’s 1-0 victory against Brentford on Saturday, Klopp said that he still believes United will pull it off but called the race “interesting.”
There is growing concern among fans that Ten Hag’s team has lost all of its vigor and enthusiasm at the worst possible time since they are missing important players, scoring is difficult, and they appear fatigued after a long season.
The Old Trafford accountants depend on Champions League status and the money it brings in, but it will also affect how Ten Hag’s debut season is perceived.
Given the chaos he arrived into a year ago, a top-four finish, together with a Carabao Cup victory and a trip to the FA Cup final, will make the Dutch manager’s inaugural season an unquestionable triumph.
The atmosphere at the club is tense, though, and the summer will look quite different if United lose to Liverpool for fourth, Manchester City wins the Triple, and the Glazer family decides to stay when the ongoing ownership dispute is resolved.
The club’s first championship since 2017 was a big accomplishment for Ten Hag, but the fact that Champions League qualification has been his top aim ever since he transferred from Ajax shows how crucial the competition is.
Although there is no indication that Ten Hag’s position as manager is in danger, no United manager has remained in command after losing out on the Champions League after a full season in charge in the ten years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Ten Hag insists that despite consecutive losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham, he is still optimistic about finishing in the top four.
At Old Trafford, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea, Fulham, and a trip to Bournemouth, United must win three of its final four games to be certain of the title.
This season, they have a P16, W12, D3, and L1 record at home in the Premier League, with the loss coming to Brighton back in August.
While Chelsea has only achieved one victory since Frank Lampard took over as interim manager, Wolves and Fulham, who are currently ranked 13th and 10th in the standings, respectively, have little to play for.
A massive collapse would result if United lost this position. read full article
