Captain Scott McTominay! Man Utd midfielder leads side out against Liverpool as Erik ten Hag brings in Kobbie Mainoo for blockbuster Anfield clash

The Scotland midfielder will wear the armband against Liverpool at Anfield, where United will be dreading another heavy loss after being thrashed by Bournemouth in their last Premier League outing and being knocked out of the Champions League following defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Fernandes, who was in the firing line after last year's 7-0 thrashing at Anfield, is suspended for the fixture after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season against Bournemouth. It is the first league game the Portuguese has missed for more than a year. Eighteen-year-old Kobbie Mainoo was also named in the line-up while Luke Shaw recovered from an injury sustained against Bayern to start at left-back. However, Maguire did not recover in time from his groin injury and Jonny Evans, 35, will take his place at the heart of the United defence.

It is the first league game Fernandes has missed for more than a year. The last match he sat out was against West Ham in November 2022, when he was also suspended. The midfielder played more minutes than any other player in Europe last season.

Another defeat for United would put Erik ten Hag under even more pressure although the Dutch coach is unlikely to get sacked until INEOS' 25% stake in the club is confirmed and the firm take charge of the club's sporting operation, which may not happen until the new year. It means that, regardless of what happens at Anfield, Ten Hag is set to take charge of United's next game, which comes away to West Ham on December 23.