Manchester United will play hosts to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday. Both teams will come into this clash with contrasting fortunes. The Reds are currently sitting pretty at the top of the league table while the Red Devils are languishing in mid-table after a dismal 1-0 defeat away at Newcastle United earlier this month.
Talking Tactics
The Red Devils are expected to set-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marcus Rashford leading the charge upfront. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might choose to take a defensive approach to this game as their arch-rivals are currently in an excellent run of form having won all eight of their Premier League matches thus far. Maybe, the ends will justify the means even though it is likely that the Norwegian head coach’s strategy will not go down well with the Man United supporters.
Jurgen Klopp’s men will stick with their favoured 4-3-3 formation as they look to press high up the pitch and dominate the ball against the Mancunian side. Both Mane and Salah will focus on catching the Man United defenders cold when they use their pace and guile on the counter. Firmino will drop into the pockets of spaces in midfield and dictate play in the opposition half while both Alexander-Arnold and Robertson try to whip in some dangerous crosses from the wide areas.
Team News
Manchester United
Paul Pogba and David De Gea will miss out on this weekend’s contest due to injury. Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial are in contention to start against the Reds, but they will have to pass a late fitness test. However, Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw are unlikely to recover in time to face Liverpool this Sunday.
Manchester United Predicted XI
Sergio Romero; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Axel Tuanzebe, Ashley Young; Scott McTominay, Fred, Daniel James, Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira; Marcus Rashford
Liverpool
Both Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri are major doubts for this clash at Old Trafford. However, Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker are expected to start following their intense recovery sessions during the international break.
Harvey Elliott is suspended for this league clash so he won’t be a part of Klopp’s match-day squad that will travel to Manchester on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool Predicted XI
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; James Milner, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah
Key Men
Manchester United
Sergio Romero will need to be at his best as he is expected to be heavily tested by the Liverpool frontline. Daniel James and Marcus Rashford will carry most of the goal-scoring workload up top. The former has been in a good run of form, but the latter has struggled to get going so far this season. It’s high time that Rashford stepped up and proved his worth for Man United by putting in a match-winning display against the Merseyside outfit this weekend.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah needs to find a way to return to form after putting in a couple of lacklustre performances before the international break. Both Mane and Firmino will have to find a way to make a breakthrough early in the game so that Liverpool can build an ideal platform to come away with maximum points from Old Trafford.
Odds
The bookmakers have made Liverpool a heavy favourite to secure a win versus Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’ men on Sunday after they were priced at 13/20. The draw is listed as 14/5 while the Red Devils are 17/4 underdogs to win this league encounter at the Theatre of Dreams.
