LONDON, Oct 16 — With his team's season teetering on a knife's edge, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim enters a make-or-break period of four crucial fixtures that could determine the club's trajectory, beginning with a high-stakes clash against Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.

Amorim's side produced one of the most solid performances of his tenure by beating Sunderland 2-0 immediately before the international break, a result that eased the mounting pressure on the Portuguese head coach following a woeful defeat at Brentford the week before, according to BBC.

Since then, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publicly backed Amorim, framing the rebuild as a three-year project and reminding fans of the time it took even Sir Alex Ferguson to find success. 

However, Amorim knows that such patience will wear thin if the team fails to make meaningful progress on last season's 15th-place finish, United's worst in the top flight since 1974.

The win over Sunderland lifted United to 10th, but it was just their 10th victory in 34 Premier League games since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November last year. A tougher test now looms.

The upcoming gauntlet

Oct 19: Liverpool (Away)

United could not have a much tougher assignment than Liverpool at Anfield, where they have not won since 2016. However, this is the only fixture in the upcoming run where they secured any points last season, earning a hard-fought 2-2 draw in January.

At the time, Amorim said, “When we are focused... when we are tired when the game is finished, we are a good team. If we don't do that all the time, we are going to lose games.”

Oct 25: Brighton (Home)

The real peril begins with three fixtures that United lost under Amorim last season. Brighton have won their last three Premier League games at Old Trafford, and last term’s 3-1 defeat was particularly painful, prompting Amorim's explosive post-match admission: “We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.”

Nov 1: Nottingham Forest (Away)

Losing at the City Ground for the second successive season was bad enough, but having former United player Anthony Elanga score the winner twisted the knife.

“One transition on our set-piece. We cannot suffer this type of goal,” a frustrated Amorim said after the 1-0 loss.

Nov 8: Tottenham (Away)

Losing to Tottenham was a familiar and damaging feeling last season—it happened four times across all competitions. The 1-0 league defeat in February completed Spurs’ first league double over United since the 1989-90 season.

A terse Amorim summed up the game: “Difference of the game? They scored and we didn't.”

While few expect a win at Anfield, the three subsequent matches against Brighton, Forest, and Spurs are seen as a crucial opportunity to pick up points and push towards the European places. 

Anything less will only intensify the pressure on Amorim and his team.