Liverpool handed huge early boost for Man Utd clash as Erik ten Hag fires blunt 'fact' claim

Manchester United will be without captain Bruno Fernandes when they face Liverpool in the Premier League.

The Red Devils captain must serve a one-match suspension after picking up five league bookings. Fernandes' latest caution arrived in United's chastening 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford. The Cherries were full value for all three points as they beat the Red Devils away from home for the first time in history.

The loss leaves United sixth in the Premier League table - some 10 points behind leaders Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp's side had to battle from behind to earn a 2-1 triumph at Crystal Palace.

The Red Devils make the trip to Anfield next weekend - but will have to cope without their skipper Fernandes. After United's loss, under-fire head coach Erik ten Hag claimed that his current squad is not good enough to find consistency. "As a squad we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that,” ten Hag said. “So we are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it every game and every third day.

“As a group, we have to improve, that is a fact. We have to become tougher. That we are ready for the game from the start. I said on Friday, you can’t be in this league if you are not playing in the highest levels because you get killed and that is what happened in the first five minutes and against a good transition team, you make life easy for them. It can’t happen that you so easily concede a goal. I have to take the responsibility for it, I have to prepare my team for the game, I was very disappointed with the way we started.”