Man Utd: Merson makes ‘destroyed by four or five goals’ claim as he makes Everton prediction

Joe Williams
Arsenal legend Paul Merson
Paul Merson during his role as a pundit on Sky Sports.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has “a sneak feeling” that Everton could get something at Man Utd despite predicting a Red Devils win at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have made a terrible start to the new season with Erik ten Hag losing his job just nine games in before Ruud van Nistelrooy steadied the ship for a few matches.

New Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim had an underwhelming start with a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich Town last weekend, although the Portuguese boss had limited time to work with his players in the lead up to the fixture.

Amorim managed a more positive result on Thursday night with Man Utd coming from 2-1 down against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League to win 3-2, thanks to two goals from Rasmus Hojlund.

Merson was not impressed by Man Utd against Ipswich and reckons one of the top teams would have “destroyed” the Red Devils.

Making his prediction for the match against Everton at the weekend, Merson told Sportskeeda: “Nothing changed for Manchester United last week in my opinion. Ipswich were by far the better team! I think even Ruben Amorim was shocked by what happened.

“If they don’t start winning games, Amorim will have to start answering a lot more questions whether he likes it or not. That is just how big this club is and how the Premier League is in a nutshell.

“I’m not entirely convinced about Manchester United’s new system under Amorim. After a point in that game, you would’ve thought Ipswich were the bigger club and not United, that’s how it went. You could say everyone was away on international duty and he did not have enough time. But if that performance was against one of the big boys in the league, Manchester United would have been destroyed by four or five goals!

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“Everton are a team who have a special X-factor in them. They always have that one fixture every season when they just spring to life and surprise us. I’m going for a United win, but I can’t help but admit that I have a sneak feeling about Everton. Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Everton.”

Reflecting on his start at Man Utd on Thursday night, Amorim told reporters: “I know it will be tough. We will have problems in the future but that is normal in every club and with every coach.

“We are changing in the middle of the season and we know that we don’t have time to train. I believe in the people, I believe in the players, I believe in the staff and I feel at home. I have a job to do and I know how to do that job.

“You have to be lucky, sometimes the ball hits the post and goes in so these small things will help us. I am confident because I believe in everyone in this squad.”