Rio Ferdinand gave his verdict ahead of Manchester United v Rangers

Rio Ferdinand shares brutally honest Man United verdict ahead of Rangers clash

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Published on:

22 Jan 2025, 5:40 am

Rio Ferdinand has described Manchester United's home form as "terrible" ahead of their Europa League clash with Rangers.

Rangers travel to Old Trafford on Thursday evening (23 January) to face a United side in disarray after what has been a dismal season for the Red Devils.

Both sides need a positive result to provide some form of optimism among the respective fanbases, with Ferdinand highlighting the Old Trafford pressure as the reason for United's recent failures.

Speaking live on talkSPORT [22 January, 9:39am], Alan Brazil claimed it is a game that "United must win", to which Ferdinand responded: "Yeah, they have to but the problem is they're at home and they're terrible at home.

"Once [players] come to Manchester United it's a great move and it's a great achievement, but when you get there sometimes it's like a huge cloud comes over and the weight of that on your shoulders when you walk out at Old Trafford."

Rangers must utilise away advantage at Old Trafford

In football, very rarely is being the away team seen as an advantage, but when it comes to Manchester United, you can certainly make a case for that.

Both on and off the pitch, United are enduring a horrid spell in their history and the atmosphere at Old Trafford is often reflected by that, especially if they don't get off to a good start.

That will be the key for Rangers - subdue the early attacks and the crowd will get agitated and it all pans out in favour of the Light Blues.

Philippe Clement is under major pressure at Rangers. (Credit: Imago)

Of course, that is far easier said than done and if Rangers are to achieve that, they need to be at their very best with plenty of quality still in the United ranks that can cause damage.

Ruben Amorim and Phillipe Clement will both be fully aware of the magnitude of the game and the result that follows it.

In other Rangers news, one Gers star sent a message as an Ibrox exit was confirmed.

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