Manchester United will be eager to return to winning ways when they welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday.
The dreaded international break is nearly here, but some important fixtures remain on Sunday before players join their national teams for a week. The action on Sunday will begin with a game between Chelsea and Crystal Palace, with the third and final fixture rounding up Gameweek 3, as Manchester United and Liverpool renew their heated rivalry at Old Trafford this weekend.
Manchester United have remained in chaos mode in the early days of the 2024/25 season thus far. The Red Devils have shown their best and worst qualities throughout this month, troubling Manchester City in the Community Shield tie yet losing the game. They should have comfortably beaten Fulham in Gameweek 1, while they deserved a draw against Brighton & Hove Albion but lost 2-1.
As for Liverpool, the Merseyside giants have shown positive signs in the early days under the tutelage of Arne Slot. The Dutch tactician has not taken long to imprint his ideas on his squad, with the team playing a free-flowing brand of football. While the Reds were slow off the blocks against Ipswich Town before clinching a victory, they cruised to a 2-0 win over Brentford last weekend.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Manchester United and Liverpool go a goal down but play a 2-2 draw, with Mohamed Salah rescuing a point for the away side. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester United
Erik ten Hag has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Liverpool on Sunday, the Manchester United manager will be bereft of the services of six first-team players.
Mason Mount is the latest absentee after sustaining a hamstring injury. The Englishman has joined Luke Shaw (calf), Leny Yoro (foot), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Victor Lindelof (toe), and Rasmus Hojlund (hamstring) on the sidelines, although the latter has stepped up his recovery this week.
Mount’s absence means Bruno Fernandes will reprise his natural no. 10 role, with Joshua Zirkzee making his first start for Manchester United. Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho should replace the struggling Marcus Rashford on the left flank, with Amad Diallo completing the numbers in the final third.
Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo are automatic picks in the double pivot, with Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, and Diogo Dalot completing the backline. Finally, there is no looking past Andre Onana between the sticks. Meanwhile, deadline-day signing Manuel Ugarte will not feature against Liverpool after Manchester United missed the deadline to register him.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Onana; Mazraoui, de Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee
Liverpool
Unlike his counterpart in the Manchester United dugout, Arne Slot does not have many fitness issues to deal with ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. The Liverpool manager might be without two first-team players.
Curtis Jones will return after the international break as he continues to build his fitness. Meanwhile, Federico Chiesa faces a race against time to prove his fitness, with Slot suggesting the Italian international might not be ready to take on Manchester United.
Alisson Becker is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Manchester United. The backline should feature Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Andrew Robertson.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, who has made his mark in the first two games. Dominik Szoboszlai will reprise the no. 10 role, with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz being the two wide attackers. Finally, Diogo Jota will spearhead the Liverpool attack, with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo on the bench.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
Key Stats
- Manchester United have won just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Liverpool, a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in their third game of the 2022/23 campaign. The Reds have lost just one of their six most recent Premier League away meetings with their bitter rivals. They have won seven Premier League matches at Old Trafford, with only Manchester City’s nine bettering that tally.
- Liverpool can win the opening three Premier League games without conceding for only the third time and first since 2018/19 when they defeated Manchester United 1-0 in their third fixture.
- Liverpool have the highest xG (5.3) and the lowest xGA (1) thus far this season.
- Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot met four times in the Eredivisie. Slot’s AZ Alkmaar beat Ten Hag’s Ajax twice in 2019/20 before Ten Hag beat Slot’s Feyenoord in both matches in the 2021/22 campaign.
- Marcus Rashford has scored seven goals in all competitions against Liverpool thus far, the player’s best tally against any club other than the eight he has netted against Leicester City. All seven of his strikes against Liverpool have come at Old Trafford. However, Rashford has not managed a shot in the Premier League yet this season despite playing 155 minutes, only the second time in his 274-game top-flight career that he has failed to have a shot in back-to-back games, having started in both.
Player to Watch
Amad Diallo
Amad Diallo was the hero for Manchester United as they scripted a dramatic comeback to beat Liverpool 4-3 in their FA Cup quarter-final clash last season. That result paved the path for the Red Devils to win the competition and help Erik ten Hag save his job.
The Dutchman might come under pressure again this season if results do not go his team’s way. With Marcus Rashford struggling on the left flank, Amad has the onus on him to deliver the goods from the right wing and help Manchester United clinch a morale-boosting victory. If he can express himself freely, the Ivorian might be a game-changer on Sunday.
Prediction
Manchester United 2-3 Liverpool
The two Premier League games between Manchester United and Liverpool last season ended all square and did not have much to write home about, even though one match ended in a 2-2 stalemate. However, with Arne Slot stamping his authority at the Merseyside club, the visitors might blow the home side away this weekend.
Mohamed Salah, who has scored in his last six away games against Manchester United in all competitions, should rise to the occasion again, netting a brace to set up a crucial victory. However, Manchester United will not go down without a fight, with Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho finding the back of the net. In the end, the hosts will fall short, losing 3-2 this weekend.
