Second place on the Premier League table is up for grabs when Manchester United take on Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Manchester United will welcome arch-rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford this weekend as the race for the second place intensifies.
Manchester United currently sit second in the Premier League, but are only two points ahead of their weekend’s opponents and manager Jose Mourinho will be keen on creating further distance between the two teams by claiming all the three points at home on Saturday.
Heading into the game, the Portuguese tactician confirmed that Manchester United will be without the services of star attacker Anthony Martial. The Frenchman missed out on Monday night’s 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace due to an injury and hasn’t been able to recover before the weekend’s blockbuster event.
Midfielder Ander Herrera, who was understood to be close to a return, will also miss out, along with the likes of Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also not be involved on Saturday.
David De Gea remains Manchester United’s best player and is an undisputed starter between the sticks for the game against Liverpool. The Spaniard will be hoping for greater support from a backline that hasn’t looked all that convincing of late.
Antonio Valencia will be retained at right-back, but needs to up his game against Jurgen Klopp’s side, whereas there is a strong possibility of Luke Shaw getting the nod at left-back ahead of utility man Ashley Young.
At the heart of the Manchester United defence, Ivory Coast international Eric Bailly could be set for a recall, after the manager claimed in his press conference that the defender had been fit for close to two weeks, hinting towards a possible start on Saturday.
“Yeah, he [Bailly] was fully fit for a couple of weeks. Yeah, but he’s okay,” Mourinho was quoted as saying in his pre-match presser. If Bailly starts, it is likely to be at the expense of summer signing Victor Lindelof, meaning Chris Smalling will retain his spot in the starting XI.
There was some good news on the injury front in the midfield department for United, with Marouane Fellaini returning into contention for selection after a long time out on the sidelines.
However, it is unlikely that the Belgian will be handed a start on Saturday, with Mourinho once again likely to go in with the midfield trio of academy graduate Scott McTominay along with last game’s hero Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.
In the attack, Jesse Lingard is expected to continue on the right flank for the Red Devils, with January arrival Alexis Sanchez once again starting on the left side. This would mean that both Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford, who made serious impact coming on from the bench against Palace will once again miss out.
Spearheading the attack for Manchester United against Liverpool will be former Everton man Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian international has been in good nick coming into the game, having scored four in his last four appearances at Old Trafford. Currently on 99 Premier League goals, he will be hoping to complete his century against the Reds and lead his team to a triumph.
