Manchester United and Liverpool renew their rivalry this weekend in the Premier League, with the two most successful English clubs meeting at Anfield. It’s the biggest game on the English football league calendar, and the 180th league meeting between the two – only nine games have been played more frequently in EFL history.
This fixture is considered one of the biggest in English league football, fuelled by the two cities’ close proximity and industrial rivalry – so much so that most fans consider it bigger than their respective local derbies against Manchester City and Everton.
Since a 1-0 loss at Anfield in January 2016, Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool team has gone unbeaten in their last six league games against Manchester United at home (W3 D3).
Liverpool have conceded just once in their last seven home games against Manchester United in all competitions, including three clean sheets in a row most recently – keep another clean sheet in this game and they’ll have shut out Man Utd in four consecutive meetings at Anfield for the first time since 1992.
With this being his 15th Premier League meeting with Manchester United (three more than any other Liverpool manager in the PL era), it should come as no surprise that a win in this match would see Klopp triumphant against Man Utd more frequently than any other Reds’ manager – a record he currently shares with Gérard Houllier (five wins).
Manchester United have won more Premier League games away from Anfield than any other team (12), and Erik ten Hag’s side are looking to complete the home/away league double over Liverpool for the ninth time in Premier League history in this match, having defeated the Merseyside side 2-1 at Old Trafford in August. They haven’t done this in the competition since beating Liverpool at Anfield twice.
Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in August left them winless in their first three Premier League games of the 2022-23 season (D2 L1), the first time this had happened since 2012-13 under Brendan Rodgers. It was their first defeat in 22 Premier League games and their first league defeat in 2022.
With a win over rivals Liverpool, Erik ten Hag became the first Manchester United manager to secure his first-ever competitive win at the club.
Jadon Sancho scored first, before Marcus Rashford scored the first of his 28 goals for club and country in the 53rd minute. Rashford also scored for the fifth time in the Premier League for Manchester United against Liverpool, trailing only Wayne Rooney (six).
With nine minutes remaining, Mohamed Salah scored a late consolation goal past David de Gea. It was the Egyptian forward’s tenth goal in all competitions against Manchester United, the most by any Liverpool player in this match’s history.
Team News- Manchester United
Jadon Sancho (illness) and Luke Shaw (knee) did not play in the FA Cup win over West Ham, but the pair should be available for the trip to Old Trafford – the latter will replace Tyrell Malacia if he proves his fitness.
Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Fred, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Marcus Rashford are all expected to return to the starting lineup after being named to the bench in midweek, with the latter aiming to become only the fourth Manchester United player to score in six consecutive Premier League games, joining Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Team News- Liverpool
There should be no surprises in Liverpool’s injury situation here, with Thiago Alcantara, Luis Diaz, Joe Gomez, and Calvin Ramsay all set to miss out. Naby Keita’s knock will need to be assessed, but the soon-to-be free agent was never likely to make the starting XI here.
Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas may also be demoted as the experienced pair of Andrew Robertson and Jordan Henderson return, while Salah is just one goal away from equaling Robbie Fowler’s all-time Premier League record of 128 for Liverpool.
Predictions
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester United
