GW 17: Liverpool vs. Manchester United

The main match this weekend will definitely be Liverpool against Manchester United. Liverpool have had a brilliant season so far while United are enduring a very different situation, as they currently sit 16 points off the league leaders. Both teams had midweek Champions League matches as Manchester United lost to Valencia and Liverpool beat Napoli to qualify for the round of 16. This could affect the teams performances as they might not be able to play all of their strongest players due to the recent number of game they have had to play. You would think that it would have more of an effect on Liverpool though, as their game was more important to their progression in the tournament and they had to work harder in the match. Over the last few seasons, this match has been a very even fixture as each side have won 1 of the last 6 matches between them. Last season, United got the better of Liverpool with the aggregate score over the 2 matches at 2-1.

Liverpool have worked so hard this season which is apparent in the way that they have been playing and at the moment, their hard work is paying off. They are currently top of the table, 1 point clear of the outstanding City side who lost last weekend. This means that they are the only team still unbeaten in the Premier League as they haven’t lost in their last 24 Premier League matches and their last 28 Premier League home matches. The last time they lost in the Premier League was their last league match against this United side. At home, Liverpool have been superb this season gaining 19 of the possible 21 points when at Anfield. They’ve also been a great home side in the Champions League unbeaten in their last 10 Champions League home matches and winning all this season. Last week they thrashed Bournemouth away from home 4-0 as a Mo Salah hattrick saw them come away with the match comfortably. Over their last few games they have looked an incredibly dangerous side when going forward and you would expect that they would trouble United’s poor defence in this game.

With Mo Salah in top form at the moment, he will definitely cause problems for a United defence who have looked shaky in recent games. He now has 4 goals in his last 2 games in all competitions and now has a total of 13 goals and 4 assists this season, 10 of which have come in the Premier League. He currently has more goals and more assists than any other Liverpool player as he is top of the Premier League scoring chart. He also has the most shots and joint most shots on target meaning he is getting into good positions and will definitely be a threat in the match. Robertson will be another crucial player as both his attacking and defensive contributions have been very impressive so far. At the moment, he is making 3.3 tackles and interceptions per match as well as 1.7 clearances. He is also very involved in Liverpool’s attacking play as he is making 1.7 key passes and 0.7 dribbles every game. He is a very good passer of the ball as well as he is currently making 65 passes a match and has 3 assists so far this season. You would expect that in this game, his defensive output would be most crucial to his team’s success as Marcus Rashford, who’s been in very fine form, could be playing against him on the right.

United come into this game needing a win, especially after their poor midweek performance in the Champions League. At the moment, United are as close to the relegation zone as they are to Liverpool in terms of points which really highlights their struggles this season. Manchester United have had a very bad defensive record this season conceding 26 from 16 and only keeping 2 clean sheets from 16 matches. This will prove to be very problematic against a Liverpool attack who are in great form. Before their win last week against last place Fulham, United had gone on a bad run of form, only collecting 3 points from their previous 4 matches. Last time out they had a good game but Fulham were very open at the back and the match didn’t test United’s full potential. In the game United dominated possession with 62% as well as doubling Fulham’s shots and almost tripling their shots on target. United deserved the win as expected goals had the game at 3.10 to 1.23 in United’s favour. This game will definitely be more of a challenge for United though and you might expect it to go in a similar direction as their recent midweek game against Valencia.

Rashford will need to be at the top of his game like he has been in recent weeks, if United want to punish this outstanding Liverpool defence. In his last 3 Premier League matches he has scored 1 goal and produced 4 assists, proving how he is becoming their main attacking outlet. He also scored United’s only goal in their match against Valencia after he came on as a sub. He is currently taking 1.3 shots a game and completing 0.8 dribbles which aren’t brilliant numbers for a winger but recently this has been improving. It’s his creative side has really shown lately as he is making 1.1 key passes per match and has 5 assists this season, more than any other United or Liverpool player. Liverpool have an extremely good attack with the likes of Salah, Mane and Firmino all in good form, so United’s backline will need to step up in this match. As mentioned earlier, defence has been a big issue for United this season but if they’re going to compete, Smalling will need to raise above the level that he has recently been performing at. He hasn’t been great this season but has been more consistent than the other United defenders averaging 2.1 tackles and interceptions this season.

Liverpool have some very big injury problems coming into this match, especially in defence. Alexander-Arnold, Gomez and Matip are all out with only Alexander-Arnold having a slight chance of making it back. This is a huge problem for Liverpool as all of these players have been in really good form at the start of this season. With both Gomez and Matip expected back in mid and late January, Liverpool are very exposed in the centre-back position and Van Dijk and Lovren will have to play almost all of their games throughout December. For Alexander-Arnold, Clyne should be able to slot in nicely but Milner could also play in that position. Manchester United are another team with a huge amount of injuries to their squad. Lindelof and Sanchez are the only ones who are guaranteed to miss out, with Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Darmian, Dalot, McTominay and Martial all slight doubts. This could see United playing a very makeshift defence as they have had to do over the last few gameweeks making it even easier for Liverpool to break them down.

With Liverpool top of the table and in incredible form, they look to be the winners without the match even starting. However, although Manchester United are having a bad season, their record against the bigger sides isn’t terrible as they’ve drawn with teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea proving that they could surprise this Liverpool side. It does look quite unlikely though, with Liverpool unbeaten in their last 28 home matches, keeping clean sheets in 11 of their last 12 and really showing how consistent they are in front of their own supporters. Also, Liverpool have kept clean sheets in their last 3 home matches against United and with their defence stronger than ever this season, it will be hard for United to break them down. Based on the recent form of the two clubs, I predict a 2-1 win in favour of Liverpool.