Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has said that he “must admit” that he wouldn’t be surprised by one outcome in Manchester United’s clash against Ipswich Town.
Manchester United return to action on Wednesday evening at Old Trafford, with kick-off for the Premier League clash slated for 7:30pm UK time.
Ruben Amorim’s men are 15th in the Premier League table and the Red Devils are 13 points clear of 18th-place Ipswich Town ahead of hosting Kieran McKenna’s side.
United have only won one match in their last five Premier League fixtures and the Red Devils secured an important point on their last league outing on the weekend.
Ruben Amorim’s side came from 2-0 down against Everton and secured a 2-2 draw against David Moyes’ men at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
The 40-year-old United manager has faced a mammoth task in steadying the Red Devils’ 2024-25 campaign since he replaced Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Merson agrees with former Man Utd manager
Speaking in his Sportskeeda column, Paul Merson claimed that United were “lucky” to stage their second-half comeback against Everton in the Premier League.
The Sky Sports pundit singled out former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and claimed that the ‘Special One’ was correct in one claim that he made.
Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as United boss in 2016 and found success during his spell, including lifting the Europa League trophy and the League Cup.
However, the 62-year-old Portuguese manager’s stint at Old Trafford came to an end in 2018 after he was sacked by the Premier League club.
Mourinho later claimed that finishing second with United in the 2017-18 Premier League season was one of the biggest achievements in his legendary career.
“Manchester United are terrible and were lucky to come away with a point at Everton,” Merson said.
“If Ashley Young didn’t go down like he did, he would have definitely gotten a penalty! Soon as he starts diving like he did, the decision will always going to go against him.
“I think Jose Mourinho claiming that his biggest achievement in football is helping Manchester United finish second is now starting to make a lot of sense, this team is so poor.”
Merson’s Man Utd vs Ipswich scoreline prediction
Merson admitted that he expects Ruben Amorim’s men to come out on top against Ipswich Town and has backed a 2-1 scoreline for the Red Devils.
However, the 56-year-old Arsenal hero admitted that it “wouldn’t shock” him if Kieran McKenna’s men defied the odds and beat United at Old Trafford.
Merson continued in his column: “I’ll give you an interesting stat now, the last time Manchester United would lead at Old Trafford at half-time and got beat at the end was against Ipswich Town back in 1984!
“Will that happen again? I’m reluctant to say yes and it feels like United will win. But I must admit, it wouldn’t shock me if Ipswich got something from this game!”
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