Man Utd’s Liverpool failure confirms the SEVEN players who will be first to go

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 8 Apr 2024 09:40 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United escaped with a 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League, but the overall level of performance was once again well below what is expected of the team.

Following their dramatic 4-3 loss to Chelsea in midweek, Man Utd again got themselves into a winning position against their fierce rivals.

Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo both took their chances expertly, but even the most ardent fan would struggle to argue that the Red Devils deserved to lead when the England youngster brilliantly curled them into the lead.

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Despite the point, it was another display that underlined the fact that a clear-out is needed if Man Utd are to return to the very top – but which players in an ideal world need to go?

SciSports’ data shows that Man Utd’s squad quality is well short of that of Liverpool.

The analytics experts give each player a score based on in-game data points which is known as their SciSkill rating.

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The core 16 members of Liverpool’s squad, for example, all score 102 or more. Those who do not, have a potential well in excess of this figure.

Few players for the Anfield club do not fall into this category: Joel Matip, Wataru Endo and Konstantinos Tsimikas are three who do not but are only solid squad players.

How does the Man Utd squad compare?

It’s immediately evident that the Red Devils are leaning on poorer players.

Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Andre Onana and Harry Maguire are notable players who would only be squad rotation options at Liverpool based purely on their standard. All are playing regularly for Man Utd.

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Erik ten Hag’s squad options are, naturally, even poorer. Sofyan Amrabat, Christian Eriksen and Jonny Evans would not even be considered at Liverpool.

These players are not good enough and, just as importantly, never will be.

Even before considering that Man Utd do not have the top-end quality of their rivals, these seven players have to be the first to go during the summer transfer window.