GW 9: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

With the return of Premier League football comes the return of a Premier League classic, as Manchester United are set to face Liverpool this weekend. However, this fixture has lost some of it’s glory over the past couple of seasons, as while Liverpool have returned to the heights at which they once were, United have been on a continuous downward spiral since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. At the moment, the sides are separated by an astronomical 13 points after just 8 games, with Liverpool in 1st while United sit in 12th. Although United have been in poor form to start the new season, a number of factors have been going against them, and while they are by no means an elite side, their results haven’t fully represented the quality of their play. When looking at the underlying statistics, these teams are actually quite close on a number of metrics. This means that we could expect a similar game to last season, when these sides drew in this fixture. While Liverpool won 3-1 in last season’s game at Anfield, the reverse fixture at Old Trafford proved to be more challenging for them, as the sides drew 0-0, a relatively dull affair. Since this last match, both sides have seemingly improved in a number of areas, and while United’s results in particular might not have shown this, with better luck it would be far more apparent. This means that the Red Devils will be looking to cause an upset yet again, aiming to take points off a side who are one of the best in Europe at the moment.

Manchester United

Currently, Manchester United sit just two points ahead of the relegation zone which is unacceptable for a side of their stature. While they have shown positive signs in some areas, this is not enough to justify their inability to gain positive results, especially against the league’s weaker sides. United have won just 1 of their last 6 matches gaining 5 points over this period, while they have recorded losses against West Ham, Crystal Palace, and most recently Newcastle. Oddly, it’s their defence that has been relatively strong over these games. Their poor attack on the other hand, is what has cost them dearly as they have scored just 4 times throughout these 6 matches. Along with this, they have only once scored more than 1 goal in a Premier League match this season. 

This shows that there is a clear structural flaw behind this Manchester United attack, and much of this is coming from their lack of an established attacking midfield presence. This isn’t likely to change in this match either, as Liverpool have the incredible Fabinho at the heart of their midfield. This could provoke a change in system from Solskjaer, as United desperately need to switch something up in order to improve their attacking prospects. This could involve moving to a 4-3-3, dropping someone like Pereira or Mata into a free 8 role so that they could avoid Fabinho. However, moving to a two up front might prove to be more effective in this match.

Solskjaer is yet to experiment with a front two, and with Martial potentially returning from injury ahead of this match, he could look to partner with Rashford up top. While both of them have often played on the wing in the past, they are each more suited to a role up front, and while they have consistently interchanged positions at the beginning of this campaign, it might finally be time to try them together. While playing two up front limits the option of an attacking midfielder entirely, both Martial and Rashford are incredibly mobile forwards, and they can look to alternate in dropping deep in order to cover this space. Along with this, this formation is well set up for counter-attacking scenarios. Liverpool have struggled against front twos before, due to the attacking mindset of their full-backs, and United’s strikers in this match can look to stay high and wide, anticipating a fast break from their team. 

Another area of concern for United is in their midfield, and with Pogba out injured they need to find a way to progress the ball. While McTominay has been decent to start the season, he offers very little in terms of ball progression, meaning he needs someone in advance of him to do the offensive work. This could force Solskjaer to turn to Fred. Fred has seen very little first team action over the past few months; however, he seems to be slowly working his way back into United’s plans. He played the full 90 minutes against Newcastle and perhaps rightly so, as he has looked competent whenever he has played. While he can sometimes be accused of making defensive errors, perhaps if he is moved further up the field he can use his strong passing ability to good effect, and potentially provide a progressive force from the heart of the United midfield. 

Liverpool

Liverpool have started their season in opposite style to United, as while you feel they might not be playing at their best, they are obtaining incredible results, which is always the most important thing in football. At the start of this season, They have comfortably been the best side in the league, with 8 wins from 8 games so far, and an 8 point lead over their title rivals Manchester City. While many have been left surprised over their fantastic points tally, this really could have been anticipated, as they are merely continuing from where they left off last year. This means they now have 17 Premier League wins on the bounce, and if they were to win here they would equal the record that City set during the 17/18 season. 

However, While Liverpool have been perfect in terms of their results, they haven’t always been perfect on the field. This means that against one of the best defences in the league, Liverpool will have to adapt their style of play to fit their opponents in order to continue their success. One thing that they should take note of is Maguire’s aerial presence at the heart of the United defence. This means that they might need to alter their usual crossing based gameplan in order to limit Maguire’s effectiveness, while trying to take advantage over a weakened United midfield by playing through the middle of the park. This could, however, limit much of Liverpool’s attacking threat, with their full-backs contributing 4 assists already.

A lot of pressure will be placed on the tremendous Roberto Firmino to make up for this potential loss of creativity, and continue his brilliant start to the year. While the full-backs can definitely play a role in wearing out this United defence by putting consistent pressure on their backline, the real goal scoring opportunities are likely to come through the center. If Firmino drops deep, he can help to create a four against two situation in the midfield in favour of Liverpool, and with Pogba ruled out for this game, Liverpool could look to dominate in this area. 

With this in mind, it might finally be time to bring Naby Keita back into the Liverpool starting eleven. While Keita is yet to play in the Premier League this season due to injury, there is a strong case for his return in this match. With players such as Henderson and Wijnaldum putting shifts in for their national teams during the international break, Keita could provide a fresher option in the middle of the park, while his attacking instinct could be useful in this game. When playing against the bigger sides, United often employ a deep-block, and with Keita’s superb dribbling abilities, he could help to break this down. He also provides another attacking option through the center, and his creative and progressive abilities can help to take pressure of the full-backs in this game.

Injuries

Currently, Manchester United are going through a massive injury crisis, which is one of the main reasons that they have struggled so far this year. Sadly for them, this doesn’t look to be getting any better, as while a few players are getting closer to full fitness, De Gea and Pogba have both been ruled out for this game. United currently rank second in the league in terms of potential absences for this weekend, with ten of their first team players doubts for this game. Big names on this list include De Gea, Pogba, Shaw, and Lingard as well as Wan-Bissaka and Martial who are both still recovering and could have to miss out. With so many starters and crucial players stuck on the sidelines, this will obviously have a massive effect on the squad harmony and quality when coming into this game. 

This means that as well as form, Liverpool have another big advantage to their name. While United could be missing ten players, Liverpool will have a maximum of just four absentees. As well as this, all four of these players could return to action this week. Crucially, this includes both Matip and Alisson, who a couple of weeks ago were major doubts for this match. While Matip had just recently obtained his injury, Alisson has been out since matchweek one of the Premier League season, and while Adrian has stepped in brilliantly for the Reds, it will be great for them to have an elite shot-stopper back in between the sticks.

Summary

Liverpool seemingly have everything on their side coming into this match, and while these teams are in drastically different periods of form, the gap in quality between the sides is more narrow than results would suggest. Of course, United’s strong underlying statistics will be hampered by injury in this match, as there are now some gaping holes in their squad. This could, however, be overshadowed by the fact that United will be playing at home in this match. Old Trafford is a venue in which Liverpool have consistently struggled to obtain results, and in the Premier League era, they have won just 5 games when away against United. United are also unbeaten in their last 5 home games against Liverpool, with 3 wins and 2 draws during this period. While this is a far inferior United side to teams of the past, Liverpool never seem to be at their strongest when facing the roar of one of the Premier League’s greatest stadiums, and they often seem slightly intimidated when visiting Manchester. The derby atmosphere is always spectacular; however, it hasn’t lead to spectacular results, with Liverpool scoring just 3 times in these past 5 games. Saying this, Liverpool’s men under Klopp get stronger with every passing season, and they have a great chance to finally turn their fortunes around. United are weaker than ever at the moment, both in terms of form and squad depth, and Liverpool have to take this opportunity to progress their season. I’m predicting a 2-1 win in Liverpool’s favour, with the Reds set to equal Manchester City’s record of 18 Premier League wins in a row.