Manchester United vs Liverpool : EPL Pre Match Analysis

Manchester United vs Liverpool. Irwell vs Mersey. Red vs Red. This derby between two of the most oldest and industrious port cities for England takes the field again this Sunday. Liverpool vs Manchester United has been a very infuriating derby over the past century. And it amazes the fans every single time. It'll be played at the theater of dreams this time around. Where the Red Devils welcome the Merseyside Reds in a fierce top of the table premier league clash. This match has always bore significance way more than just the premier league. It's a game about the fans, something they take pride in. So it's never an easy getaway for any of the teams.

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This Sunday Manchester United will be hosting Liverpool while sitting 6th currently in the premier league table. While Liverpool are just 1 point off league leaders Chelsea. This match is very important regardless of the significance of the fans as both teams will need a win here. Manchester United are 5 points off the top, and they have a tough run of fixtures in front of them. They need as much points as they can if they are too stay relevant in the title race. While Liverpool will look to maintain pressure on Chelsea with winning this one while a loss for them could see them drift to the 3rd place falling behind of Manchester City.

The visiting side can most probably line up like this:-

Liverpool : Alisson Becker, Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Curtis Jones, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah.

While the hosts would look to build on their outstanding comeback win against Atalanta.

Manchester United : David De Gea, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan Bissaka, Fred, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both teams should be going by their usual lineups and tactics for this game. Liverpool will deploy a 4-3-3 and Manchester United might look to play their usual 4-2-3-1. Liverpool's fast paced possessional play will be a headache and quite difficult for United to stop. Their defense looks shaky lately. So this might be a problem. Liverpool's biggest threat is Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian was in fine form in the mid-week champions league game against Atletico. Scoring twice to win it for his team. Liverpool also conceded two goals in that game. Something they won't be rooting to continue. They will as usual target the flanks and push their fullbacks higher and let their wingers squeeze in. This wide play has been very fruitful for Liverpool.

Manchester United on the other hand would prefer to play on the counter and stay defensive primarily. As we all have seen the manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is undee fire from the media and many people are calling for his head. While the board is backing him. United when allowed to have the ball, they have been very poor. Their creating capabilities from last season seen to have been lost. Bruno Fernandes is not in the form he was for the last one and a half seasons. Also Sancho hasn't been fully integrated into the team. The inclusion of Ronaldo has changed the mindset around Old Trafford. United will play a defensive approach and wait for Liverpool to push high into their half with the ball. And when the ball is won they can exploit the high Liverpool defense with the speed of Sancho, Rashford and Shaw. And Ronaldo and Bruno will also be around.

The morale at both camps are good enough. Liverpool are coming here on the back of 2 consecutive wins with a crucial champions league game win against Atletico. While United have also pulled off a tremendous second half comeback against Atalanta in front of their fans. And it was Ronaldo tk score the winning goal. He scored at the Stretford end and crowd exploded with joy. It's the most historic side of the Old Trafford stadium. Most of United's winning goals in history have come at this end. Fans sitting Stretford end of the pitch will surely be hoping to add another win to this record.