Di Maria raises Anfield alarm

Angel di Maria has talked up the importance of Manchester United’s forthcoming clashes with their top-four rivals as they travel to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon looking for a victory to take a step closer to securing a top-four finish.

The showdown at Anfield is promptly followed by games against Manchester City and Chelsea next month, before a home clash with Arsenal in May.

And Di Maria admits that “everything is at stake” for Louis van Gaal’s side as they bid to finish in the top four in the Dutchman’s first campaign in charge at Old Trafford.

“We are all aware that a number of big games are just around the corner, and the season will be decided by these fixtures,” Di Maria said.

“We know all about these upcoming games and we have been thinking and talking about them for quite some time now. We’ve known that everything would be at stake over this final period of the season.”