Liverpool vs Manchester United
English Premier League 2018/19
16th December, 16:00 pm BST
Anfield, Liverpool
Manchester United travel to Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday as we look to hand Jurgen Klopp’s side a blow in their title bid.
Both sides are coming off the back of Champions League action, though the Merseyside club have had an additional 24 hours rest and were playing at home on Tuesday.
After an excellent performance in thrashing bottom of the league Fulham 4-1 last Saturday we were poor at Valencia midweek, missing out on a chance to top our Champions League group.
Heading into the weekend we are eight points off the top four places and our performances need a drastic up turn if we’re to even dream about Champions League football again next season. Given the importance of this fixture and the history between us two, many will be tuning into the Man United vs Liverpool live streaming to catch the action.
Jose Mourinho rotated many of our side on Wednesday, meaning we should be fresh for our trip to Anfield on Sunday. Marcus Rashford’s second half performance against the La Liga side has earned him a place in the starting lineup this weekend but otherwise the Portuguese coach probably won’t be making many changes to the side he already had in mind before our last match.
The boss did say in his post-match press conference that Chris Smalling, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Martial, Matteo Darmian and Victor Lindelof are all injured, whilst Ashley Young and Jesse Lingard will start. Lindelof is expected to be out until after Christmas whilst Alexis Sanchez is out until the new year.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have lost Joe Gomez to injury for the foreseeable future. Joel Matip is expected to be sidelined until the new year, though that can be seen as a good thing for them. Nathaniel Clyne has been out all season and Trent Alexander-Arnold is a doubt for Sunday’s game.
In attack for the hosts, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke remain sidelined as they have been all season.
Predicted Manchester United Starting Lineup (4-3-1-2): David De Gea; Ashley Young, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw; Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini; Jesse Lingard; Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku
Predicted Liverpool Starting Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson; Fabinho, Naby Keita, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Key Matchups
Sadio Mane vs Ashley Young
Jose Mourinho has said that Ashley Young will start this one and we have to presume that will be at right-back with the boss also saying that Diogo Dalot is injured. That means Young could be coming up against Sadio Mane. That’s bad news for us because our makeshift full-back has been exposed here previously this season.
Mohamed Salah vs Luke Shaw
Last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner is hitting top form again with a hat-trick versus Bournemouth last weekend and the winner against Napoli midweek. Luke Shaw has the ability to stick with Mohamed Salah at least and didn’t feature midweek so energy won’t be an excuse.
Ander Herrer vs Naby Keita
If Naby Keita starts in midfield it should be an exciting battle with Ander Herrera. Two energetic players who give it their all in the centre of the park. However, the Guinean has only made six Premier League starts since his big money move over the summer so we could see Jordan Henderson or Xherdan Shaqiri starting against us instead.
Marcus Rashford vs Dejan Lovren
Marcus Rashford scored a brace in our 2-1 victory when we last met at Old Trafford. The youngster has looked excellent for us of late and there’s no reason why he can’t get on the scoresheet again this weekend. Romelu Lukaku and many strikers have got the better of Dejan Lovren in his Premier League career too and injuries at the back for Jurgen Klopp’s side gives us hope that the Croatian may start.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
