Will two Man Utd records cost Erik ten Hag his job? 'Big six' record under microscope

Erik ten Hag has faced intense scrutiny over his future this season with Manchester United enduring a dismal campaign. The Dutch boss arguably overachieved during his first season in England when he led United to their first trophy in six years by winning the League Cup and the FA Cup final, losing to rivals Manchester City at Wembley. Ten Hag also secured United’s return to the Champions League with a third place finish but they're languishing in ninth - ten points off the top four - ahead of welcoming Tottenham to on Sunday.

United have been decimated by injuries to key players this season but they’ve still underperformed and their dreadful Champions League performance was alarming. United were expected to qualify for the knockout stages alongside Bayern Munich but they finished bottom of their group, behind Galatasaray and Copenhagen, to crash out of European competition entirely. Pressure intensified on Ten Hag after their Champions League failure but his job remains safe, albeit in the short-term, as Sir Jim Radcliffe conducts a scrupulous examination of the club’s structure ahead of a likely summer overhaul after acquiring sporting control. Radcliffe will be in attendance at Old Trafford on Sunday for the first time since securing his 25% stake in United with Ten Hag’s Premier League record under the spotlight. 

Third best head-to-head record amongst ‘big six’ clubs

Surprisingly, United has the third best head-to-head record among all ‘big six’ clubs in the league since the start of the 2022/23 when Ten Hag was appointed. All 'big six' clubs have played 15 times against each other with United picking up 21 points. Arsenal’s two defeats to champions Manchester City were incredibly costly in the title race, but Mikel Arteta’s men boast the best record with 28 points with Man City in second. Chelsea, unsurprisingly have the worst record of the big six with a lowly six points from 15 games. 

As the graphic above illustrates, United have benefitted from Chelsea’s struggles as they’re undefeated against them under Ten Hag, picking up seven points from three games. United’s points per game against Chelsea is far superior than any other club. United have picked up 1.33 ppg against Spurs and Ten Hag will hope to improve on that record on Sunday to revive their top four hopes. United’s record against the remaining three ‘big six’ teams doesn’t make for great reading. Ten Hag has secured wins over all three at Old Trafford but failed to pick up a single point away with the FA Cup final defeat at Wembley to Man City a particularly painful defeat.

Zero wins in 12 games away to other top half teams from 2022/23 season

While United’s direct record against their big six rivals compares rather favourably, their away record is horrendous. Ten Hag has failed to win a single game against any club that finished in the top half last season, losing an alarming ten games with just two draws. United have also suffered heavy defeats on the road, most notably the 7–0 thrashing at Anfield and the 4-0 loss against Brentford in his first game in charge. United have conceded a concerning 34 games across those 12 games, scoring just nine and they’ve not scored away from home against last season’s top half.