Roy Keane has gone and Michael Ballack is reportedly lined up as his replacement.
Ballack might not be interested in Manchester United if the team fails to reach the second round of the European Champions League, however, and a loss to visiting Villarreal today will put the Red Devils on the brink of elimination.
One victory in four games puts Manchester United, which has made the second phase 11 straight times, in danger of missing out on the last 16.
"It has been a difficult week but it is in the nature of our club that we have to come through them," Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said. "This game on Tuesday is absolutely vital, we've got to win this game to qualify and it is truly, really important."
With FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Lyon and Arsenal already through and Juventus, Bayern Munich, Ajax, Liverpool, Chelsea and Inter Milan almost there, Manchester United could get left behind.
Although the Red Devils won eight Premier League titles in 11 years under Ferguson, the veteran manager is frustrated that he has led the team to only one Champions League triumph -- in 1999.
His team received some help on Sunday when Argentina playmaker Juan Ramon Riquelme was ruled out of Villarreal's lineup because of a thigh muscle strain. Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, who left Manchester United last season, will miss out on a return to Old Trafford because of a torn thigh muscle.
The Spanish club leads the Group D standings with six points and will qualify for the last 16 with a victory today.
"I had always dreamed of a game like this," Villarreal president Fernando Roig said Sunday. "I thought about it four years ago when I went to see a Manchester-Valencia game and now it's a reality.
"Our aim is to win there and ensure our qualification. It would be really great but we know it will be difficult. The group will probably be decided in the last round when we play Lille."
Last-place Benfica has four points and can still make it.
The Portuguese champions visit second-place Lille, which is level on five points with Manchester United.
After this week's games there is only one round left and the top two in each of the eight groups qualify for the second round. The third-place finisher has the consolation of dropping into the UEFA Cup, but it will be the end of the European road for the team that finishes last.
Already having guaranteed a place in the second round with 10 points from four games, Barcelona hopes to follow up its impressive 3-0 Spanish league victory at Real Madrid on Saturday with three more points against visiting Werder Bremen. Its three group rivals are tied on four points with Panathinaikos hosting Udinese.
Juventus and Bayern Munich are even at the top of Group A and both will clinch spots in the second round with victories today. Juve only needs a draw with third-place FC Brugge while Rapid Vienna, which goes to Munich, is already eliminated.
Arsenal, which has never won European soccer's biggest title, is already through with 12 points and visits FC Thun today. Ajax, which has won the title four times but is sixth in the Dutch league, will qualify with a victory against visiting Sparta Prague.
French champion and league leader Lyon has already qualified from Group F along with Real Madrid, and the two teams meet tomorrow. That means a Rosenborg victory over Olympiakos will only guarantee a place in the UEFA Cup.
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