Will Man United beat biggest rivals to Champions League?
Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show
The Athletic
4.6 • 771 Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Manchester United face Liverpool at Old Trafford this Sunday knowing that a win against their biggest rivals will guarantee Champions League football next season. It would also represent an incredible turnaround in the two teams' fortunes from this time last year. It looks good, especially with the hand Arne Slot has at his disposal, but the podcast's confidence is very cautious.
Michael Carrick likes to keep his cards close to his chest and he has not been drawn on a potential appointment as permanent manager (or head coach), but he did confirm he had a cup of tea with Sir Jim Ratcliffe last week. Meanwhile, Kobbie Mainoo will hope to celebrate his new contract with a positive performance in the middle of the park; it's not that long ago he and the club were seriously contemplating his departure.
We also hear from Mason Mount about his hopes for next season as the players look to build on the current momentum. And just one more thing; "a win against their biggest rivals"... Are Liverpool actually the number one rivals for Manchester United? We start the debate.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Athletic F.C. |
| 0:18.6 | This is Talk of the Devils, the Athletic Show, dedicated to Manchester United. |
| 0:22.5 | Coming up today, we build up to a big game on Sunday, Manchester United against Liverpool. |
| 0:28.0 | Obviously, huge ramifications for the Champions League for next season. |
| 0:32.0 | But what does it mean for Michael Carrick? |
| 0:34.0 | We'll have details as well on a new deal for Cobby Mayno. |
| 0:36.6 | And are Liverpool now, Man United's biggest rivals? We'll have details as well on a new deal for Cobby Mayno and our Liverpool now, |
| 0:38.9 | Man United's biggest rivals. We'll debate that. We'll also hear from Mason Mount a little bit |
| 0:43.3 | later on as well. But good morning to Laurie, to Carl, to Andy. How are we all doing? I'm grand. |
| 0:49.0 | Fantastic to see you guys. Sorry I missed the last one. So this is a lovely midweek. Pick me up. |
| 0:54.5 | Yeah, you're picking choose your moments, don't you? |
| 0:56.2 | But we've got you on today, and we need to talk to you about one of your recent articles, actually, |
| 1:00.9 | because this is a big game for United unquestionably. |
| 1:03.5 | It's Liverpool after all, but obviously a win guarantees Champions League qualification. |
| 1:08.5 | But could it also guarantee Michael Carrick the job permanently as the head coach of Manchester United? What do you think? |
| 1:15.4 | I think that if United qualify for the Champions League, that puts Michael Carrick in a very strong position. |
| 1:21.8 | I wondered if they might even just do something after the Liverpool game if they win that convincingly |
| 1:27.7 | because I imagine the questions will become quite pronounced, quite consistent, quite loud. |
| 1:33.4 | Would they need to address that? |
| 1:35.4 | I do believe that they still will want to wait until the end of the season and, you know, |
| 1:40.4 | conduct a thorough process as they see fit, maybe even speak directly to some |
| 1:44.4 | candidates once the season is over, you know, we know the likes of Andonioela, |
... |
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