Preview
One of the biggest rivalries in English football, the Northwest Derby, is about to begin. The biggest and most bitter rivals of Liverpool will be welcomed at Anfield by the Reds.
An on-form Manchester United takes on struggling rivals Liverpool at Anfield, where they are now only eight points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. In contrast to last season, when Man Utd would have finished a staggering 34 points behind their fierce Mersey rivals, the tables have completely flipped this year.
The Red Devils currently hold a 13-point lead over their opponents, while the Reds risk missing out on European qualification.
With Erik ten Hag mounting something of a comeback in his first season at Old Trafford and the club ending its six-year trophy drought,
With a Carabao Cup triumph at Wembley last weekend, these two arch-rivals have been on distinctly different paths this season.
United technically still has a chance to win all four of its games this season after pulling off a thrilling comeback victory over West Ham on Wednesday to advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals. After eliminating Barcelona in a heavyweight play-off match, they now face Real Betis in a two-legged Europa League last-16 matchup.
Form Guide: Liverpool
Liverpool is still struggling through a challenging campaign that has fallen far short of expectations. After defeating Wolves, they were able to move up to sixth place and close the gap to the top four to six points.
During the past few weeks, these contradictions have been on full show. excellent victories over Everton and Newcastle interspersed with an FA Cup defeat at Brighton and a demoralizing thrashing at Wolves.
Real Madrid thrashed them 5-2 in the Champions League after losing a two-goal lead at home and playing a tedious draw with struggling Crystal Palace.
A highly erratic Liverpool team, who have just four victories to their name in their previous 12 games, is slowly but surely moving up the rankings and posing a threat to upset the top-four apple cart.
Despite having a game in hand, the Reds have moved up to a sixth position in the standings and are six points behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur.
One thing that has not changed this season, despite Liverpool’s waning power, is their Premier League record at Anfield. The Reds have lost just one of their last 35 home matches in the top flight in front of their own fans.
They have taken 13 of the last 15 available points while recording clean sheets in their last three such matches.
Holding Wolves at bay made it four straight shutouts in the Premier League for Klopp’s squad, who have also gone unbeaten in their past seven games at Anfield against Big Six clubs.
Nevertheless, their title-challenging rivals could benefit from taking a page out of Real Madrid’s book.
Form Guide: Manchester United
A Man United team that had already won the EFL Cup and FA Cup from the 2021–22 season was in danger of coming back to earth when Said Benrahma gave West Ham the lead in their FA Cup fifth-round match.
West Ham was attempting to duplicate Liverpool’s EFL Cup and FA Cup double from the 2021–22 season.
However, a Nayef Aguerd own goal sparked a late comeback from the Red Devils, who scored through Alejandro Garnacho and Fred in the dying minutes to secure a quarterfinal date with Fulham.
This maintains their hopes of winning the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup at the same time. Liverpool won’t be in the mood to give any advice in that endeavor, though.
Not since destroying Leicester City Man United have taken the field in the Premier League down 3-0, but their current third-place standing is secure. With each of their last four games – all in separate tournaments – has resulted in victories.
Manchester United travels to Anfield having scored at least twice in each of their past 12 games across all competitions, despite Liverpool’s stout defensive action – at least domestically. Their 23 points gained since the World Cup are the most in the Premier League.
How the game could go
After the World Cup break, the Red Devils have the best record in the Premier League, with their lone loss coming against Arsenal. Yet the Emirates defeat was yet another disappointment in a crucial away game.
Ten Hag has put in a lot of good work at Old Trafford, but he still has trouble motivating the players when they are playing quality opponents away from home.
In each of the subsequent four games, the Reds have dominated in terms of Expected Goals. In that period, only Newcastle was able to surpass 1.0 xG, and the Magpies were unable to capitalize on any of their opportunities.
Since giving up 1.4 xG to Leicester and 1.3 to Leeds in recent weeks, United has appeared to be playing a little too loosely defensively.
This Match would be a close one with tons of goals going with the statistics provided by both sides.
Betting Predictions
Manchester United to Win
We believe that the teams are roughly equal when we contrast the starting lineups of Liverpool and Manchester United. In terms of current performance, United is unquestionably the superior squad. For some reason, Manchester United is the underdog in this match even though the team has had a single defeat in the last twenty games since the World Cup. Liverpool has been winning more lately but they are still far from their usual level. We find incredible value in Manchester United’s odds to win this match today. Bet9ja have 2.80, 1xbet have 2.93 and Paripesa have 2.93 odds.
Over 2.5 Goals
Both clubs will have opportunities in this important matchup. Liverpool vs Man Utd derbies typically have a good number of goals and with the form of United, we definitely expect some goals here. Liverpool have been struggling with attack but since this is a massive game, we expect them to be better and we of course expect a goal from them too at least. Bet9ja have 1.64 odds, Paripesa have 1.70, and 1xbet have 1.70 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Liverpool)
Mohammed Salah
The hosts have also been boosted by Mo Salah’s turnaround in form. Salah is Liverpool’s all-time highest goalscorer against Manchester United in all competitions with 10 goals so far. Nine of those have come in his last five appearances against the Red Devils, with the Egyptian netting in every match in that run. Back him to add to that stellar run-on Sunday. Bet9ja have 2.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.60.
Diogo Jota
Jota has had a good comeback to this Liverpool side from Injury. He helped his side to another important win over his employer’s Wolves. He had a hand in one of the goals and could impress yet again as he is the more experienced player to start ahead of Nunez. Bet9ja have 3.00 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.80.
Anytime Goalscorer (Manchester United)
Rashford
arcus Rashford has been in the form of his life lately, scoring ten goals in his last ten league matches. Another here would see him join club elites Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona, and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only United players to score in six successive PL matches. We are expecting him to replicate his performances from the reverse fixture this season. Bet9ja have 2.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.60.
Fred
A surprise addition to the list is the Brazilian midfielder today. With fellow midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro often stealing the limelight. Fred has slowly become a key part of United’s midfield in recent months. He’s begun adding important goals and assists to his ball-winning qualities. He’s been involved in seven goals in his last 10 appearances (four goals, three assists). This Includes a vital goal against La Liga leaders Barcelona in the Europa League at Old Trafford a few weeks ago and a midweek FA Cup strike versus West Ham. Today looks like the right time to add to that figure. Bet9ja have 9.50 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 8.00.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
