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Liverpool v Manchester United – Match Preview

Karolina Kurek

Liverpool welcome a flying Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday afternoon. This rivarly has brought many unforgettable moments to date and this time it’s going to be no different as Liverpool will be looking to build on the momentum picked up against Wolves and call a halt to the Red Devil’s fantastic run of games.

Overview

Liverpool and Manchester United renew their rivarly for the 180th league meeting. It’s the biggest fixture in the English football league calendar and all eyes will be on this on Sunday afternoon’s encounter.

Going into this game, Liverpool have been unbeaten against Manchester United when they’ve played them at home in the last six league clashes.

Apprehension may have been creeping in for the Liverpool faithful as they hosted Wolves in a rearranged fixture on Wednesday night but these concerns were scrapped later on.

The Reds had to wait until the 73rd minute to break the deadlock at Anfield and ultimately extended their advantage to 2-0 courtesy of a reliable Mohamed Salah.

The Reds are struggling with inconsistency this campaign. They got back to winning ways after registering a prestigious victory over their neighbours in a derby game but two outings later suffered a humiliating defeat (2-5) against Real Madrid.

As things stand, Liverpool currently sit in sixth place  in the top-flight table with just 39 points from 24 games.

Surprisingly, United are fighting on all four fronts this term, having come back from from behind to beat West Ham United in a sensational comeback on Wednesday, they’ve booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Moreover, they’ve been running riot in the Premier League standings after the World Cup break with 23 points accumulated from 30 possible. United are currently third in the league table, 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

The magic wand that has improved Manchester United is Erik ten Hag. Although he’s denied the claim stating he is “Harry Potter” by laughing off his role in helping resurge the form of key players.

However, the Dutchman was extremely humble about himself. That being said, he ended the club’s six-year trophy drought with the victory in the Carabao Cup at Wembley last weekend.

There’s no denying that only he and Jose Mourinho have tackled the challenge of bringing back the good days to Old Trafford. One can argue that the Portuguese didn’t do enough, but in hindsight his judgment on United players and management was shrewd.

Head to Head

The last time Manchester United won against Liverpool away from home was in 2016. Since then, the Merseysiders have remained unbeaten in the following seven clashes across all competitions. Winning four and drawing three. This is their longest run without defeat against the Red Devils at home since a nine-game string between 1970 and 1979.

Despite, the disappointing results against Jürgen Klopp’s troops in the recent times, I consider the Red Devils favourites as they are currently in very rich vein of form but in this kind of game, form often goes out window.

Team News

Liverpool have no players suspended for the game but a couple of unavailable ones. Joe Gomez (hamstring), Luis Diaz (knee), Arthur, Thiago Alcantara (hip), Calvin Ramsay (knee), Arthur (thigh) are all expected to miss out. The latter has shown positive signs of his recovery, but it would raise a few eyebrows among Liverpool supporters should Klopp turn to him.

Naby Keita has picked up a knock again and this issue will need assessing. It just sums up Keita’s struggles in a red shirt, his contract expires at the end of the season and is not expected to be extended.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag will have a selection headache following the absence of Anthony Martial, Donnyvan de Beek and Christian Eriksen. The condition of Luke Shaw (knock) and Jadon Sancho (illness) is yet to be assessed, therefore they remain minor doubts.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Fred, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford, who were a bit rested during the midweek game against West Ham are set to return to the first XI.

Summary

Given a dismal campaign and our inconsistency, I consider every game a difficult task now. Moreover, I don’t enjoy predicting Liverpool games any more due to the fact that they may baffle you positively, or negatively (in the worse case).

Manchester United will arrive full of confidence hoping to extend their incredible run. Erik ten Hag let some of the key United players rest during the midweek win over West Ham in the FA Cup. Casemiro, Martinez, Rashford, Fred and Varane have all started on the bench and appeared on the pitch in the second half. Erik ten Hag was forced to introduce the players in question to the field in order to change the course of the game.

This game is important for both Liverpool and Manchester United. We can expect the Reds to kick off on full throttle with the help of the Anfield faithful. The significance of the 12th-man has again been highlighted during the post-match interviews after the Wolves match. On top of that, Klopp’s outfit need a win to keep their hopes of top four alive. I think Manchester United will get a narrow win against Liverpool and their individuality will determine the outcome.

Follow Karolina on Instagram: @96karolinakurek

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