As the biggest rivalry in English football returns, both Liverpool and Manchester United need a result. The home team need a win to dispel the horror of the 5-2 reverse against Real Madrid. United need a win to keep the form going and to keep Arsenal and Manchester City honest at the top of the table. Can either team get the points they need to maintain upward momentum?
Liverpool News
Having won against Wolverhampton Wanderers midweek, Liverpool come into this game with a decent run of clean sheets in the league. They did, though, concede 5 at home to Real Madrid. Confidence is brittle, but an unbeaten run of four games and a slowly but surely receding injury list can only be a good thing moving forward. The Reds have only lost once at Anfield this year aside from the Madrid horror show, and will be confident of springing an upset.
Manchester United News
The fact that United going to Anfield – given their recent form at their most hated ground – is seen as a challenge for Liverpool is a shining example of the work done by Erik ten Haag. The Dutchman comes into this one missing a few players, with Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial likely to miss out alongside Luke Shaw.
Purple patch scoring machine Marcus Rashford should return, though, and given his record against Liverpool that should make the Anfield side very worried indeed.
Verdict
Both sides come into this one in decent form, though United are definitely the happier with their season out of the two. They have already won a trophy, and are in a league, FA Cup, and Europa League fight. Liverpool simply need to win to try and keep pace with the top four. United have the edge and the confidence, though, and it is hard to see Liverpool stopping their nemesis in Rashford – given their own issues scoring recently, they will be unlikely to win a shootout.
SCORE: 2-3
