Manchester United are predicted to clear out various key figures after their situation continued to spiral with defeat to Chelsea, starting with manager Michael Carrick.

The Blues' win made it nine games without a win across all competitions for the Red Devils thanks to goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer in the early kick-off on Saturday.

The latter came from the penalty spot thanks to Lisandro Martinez's bizarre decision to lead with an arm into Wesley Fofana's face minutes after picking up a yellow card, conceding a spot kick and receiving a second booking in the process.

Carrick already seemed on the brink of losing his job after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth last weekend, which itself came off the back of a 4-1 loss at Como in the Champions League.

Now the club have been tipped to put the ex-Old Trafford midfielder out of his misery, before getting rid of Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada at the end of the season.

Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada tipped for sack

United will end the weekend at the wrong end of the Premier League table after losing in the capital and one pundit predicts the entire operation will soon be scrapped.

Much of the fans' ire amid the continuing slump in form has been directed at the players, and towards the directors' box rather than the manager, who has the success of his playing career in United red to give him some leeway, whereas those in his squad do not.

Director of Football Wilcox was a Premier League winner himself with Blackburn in 1995 but has no glittering history at Old Trafford to full back on, while CEO Berrada success at board level all came across the city at the Etihad.

According to the post-match prediction the club's unnamed top target to replace Carrick is thought likely to be unavailable currently, but that person could receive a huge offer in the summer to take over, one which would be the "most lucrative" in the top flight since that enjoyed by former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

Martinez publicly criticised Wilcox and the club for failing to produce a squad capable of challenging for honours following the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on 13 October before subsequently apologising.

But the Argentine defender won't have done anything to direct the spotlight away from himself and his teammates this weekend as he effectively ended the game as a contest around the hour mark.

Martinez only has himself to blame at Stamford Bridge

Shortly after Peter Bankes pulled back play to book Martinez for multiple foul attempts to stop Rogers the referee was then sent to the monitor by the VAR to review what happened at a Chelsea corner, with Fofana on the turf holding his face.

Replays showed Martinez had lost his man in the box and in scrambling to regain position he led with an arm while not looking at the ball, ultimately putting United a player and a second goal down, which was how the game would end.

Reacting to events in West London after the final whistle on Saturday former England striker Stan Collymore posted on X his prediction for the ensuing events in Manchester, claiming a "placeholder" in the dugout will be appointed imminently before the next permanent boss is then handed "absolute autonomy".

"Prediction. United will pull the trigger on Carrick but will employ a placeholder for the rest of the season. Why? Their main target is not available for this full season. At which point United sack Wilcox, Berrada and dismantle the football department. They will then offer their number 1 target absolute autonomy over football affairs alongside the most lucrative managerial offer since Pep."

If United do sack Carrick and then replace an interim manager again in the summer they would be the 13th and 14th names to take charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in the 2013.

Carrick features on that list twice, alongside fellow former United players Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Darren Fletcher.

Arguably the last time there was a manager in place with the gravitas and autonomy anywhere close to what Collymore suggests is on the way was Jose Mourinho when he arrived just over a decade ago, with the now-Real Madrid boss also arguably the most successful in charge since Ferguson's glittering reign ended.