Liverpool will lock horns with Manchester United at the Old Trafford on Sunday night hoping to pick up a win that would send them into the FA Cup’s fifth round. Jurgen Klopp’s men managed to start the campaign strongly; however, their recent performances have put a serious dent on their title hopes.
Having secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Fulham midweek, the Red Devils will be heading into the contest full of confidence, looking to add to Liverpool’s existing woes. However, it’ll be an uphill task against their arch-rivals who seem determined to bounce back to their winning ways after a shambolic 1-0 loss to Burnley on Thursday.
Let’s take a look at how things are shaping up ahead of the weekend clash.
Team News
There has been some good news on the injury front for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Victor Lindelof is set to return this week. The Swedish centre-back missed out on the 2-1 win over Fulham due to the recurrence of a back problem.
“Victor will be fine for the weekend, it was just too quick a turnaround we felt with the travel and with his back. Now we’ve got four days extra. Victor got his treatment this morning and a little bit of light training so he should be ready for the weekend.” – The Norwegian coach revealed.
On the other hand, Jordan Henderson remains a concern ahead of the mammoth clash. The English international failed to feature against Burnley due to a ‘minor muscle strain’; however, James Pearce (from The Athletic) has claimed that Henderson’s absence was just a precautionary measure. Besides, Naby Keita remains sidelined with a muscle injury.
Tactical Preview And Key Men
The Reds seem to be running out of ideas at the centre of the park in the absence of skipper Jordan Henderson. Nonetheless, the return of Joel Matip in defence should allow Henderson to take up his usual role in central midfield, thereby restoring the team’s overall balance. Besides, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has found himself struggling in both ends of the pitch this season as he broke his own record to register a 0% success rate from a whooping 18 attempted open-play crosses against the Clarets.
Flipping over to the home side, it would be fair to say that things have been going pretty well for them so far. Paul Pogba has been winning games almost single-handedly whereas Luke Shaw has been a rock down the left-hand side for the Red Devils. Solskjaer will be looking to make full use of set-pieces and swift counter-attacks to break down the makeshift Liverpool backline, something he has succeeded in many times this term.
(Stats from Squawka)
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool possible starting XI:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Fabinho, Robertson; Henderson, Thiago, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Manchester United possible starting XI:
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Pogba; Fernandes; Martial, Rashford, Cavani
Prediction
Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool.
