Manchester United head to Madrid with form, confidence and results all pointing the wrong way. Michael Carrick’s side have gone four matches without a win in all competitions and, more to the point, they have yet to win away from home this season. That is the problem now, not the noise around the club, not the speculation, just the basic fact that they are not getting results.

After brushing aside Sabah on their return to the Champions League, United have lost to Manchester City and Brighton, then drawn with Fulham and Tottenham. That is a poor sequence by any standard. It leaves them going into a difficult European night against an Atletico Madrid side who are far more reliable on their own ground.

Diego Simeone is not buying the idea of a passive or broken United. He expects the opposite. “They apply a lot of pressure in the opposition’s half,” Simeone said of United in his news conference on Monday. “They’re very aggressive, play with great intensity, make clever runs to buy time in the first phase of pressing and have quick players.”

That tells you what Atletico Madrid are preparing for, a side that may be short on rhythm but still carries pace and physicality. Simeone is experienced enough to know that poor domestic form does not automatically follow into Europe.

This is where Carrick needs a response. Reports suggest there is no immediate plan to remove him, despite a start that has dragged United into their worst opening league run for 40 years after dropping points at home to Tottenham. Fine, but patience in football usually lasts only until the next bad result.

Atletico, meanwhile, are unbeaten at the Estadio Metropolitano and had already beaten Real Madrid there before the international break. That matters. Home form in this competition often decides who progresses.

Simeone made it clear that this is about efficiency as much as emotion. “We know how difficult this competition is. The [league phase] format challenges you to pick up points, whether at home or away, and we need points just like everyone else who wants to advance.

“The match will be long and we have to manage our efforts to compete well.