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Who will come out on top as two of the most successful clubs in England, Liverpool and Manchester United, battle to go on top of the Premier League table?
Much has changed in such a short time since Liverpool last met Manchester United in the Premier League. The defending champions registered a 2-0 win then to go 30 points clear of their bitter rivals. Oddly enough, when Manchester United travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday, the Merseysiders are the ones playing catch up.
Manchester United are on top of the Premier League table and are there for good reason. Liverpool haven't been at their best and their numerous injury concerns have not helped. They are currently three points behind the Red Devils and can go top of the table with a win at home on Sunday.
Though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men have been able to squeeze out three points from dead-rubber scenarios, they will have their work cut out for them at Anfield. It's a trip they will look to make the most out of but it's a fixture that they haven't found much joy in of late.
On that note, let's take a look at the five reasons why Manchester United will struggle against Liverpool.
#5 Manchester United have not been at their best against the top sides
Save for the 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain and the 5-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig in the opening stages of the UEFA Champions, Manchester United have not been able to find much success against top sides neither domestically nor in Europe.
They lost to both Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig subsequently. They were held to goalless draws by Chelsea and Manchester City. Two of Manchester United's three league losses came against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. They also lost the Carabao Cup semifinal to Manchester City.
So while they have been picking up points against smaller opposition, Manchester United haven't really put their best foot forward against top quality opposition and this is a habit they will have to wriggle out of if they're to remain top of the table after Sunday.
#4 Liverpool at Anfield is near impossible to beat
Liverpool have turned Anfield into an absolute fortress. The Merseysiders haven't lost a single game at Anfield since April 2017. Though they haven't been at their best recently, they would relish the opportunity to throw a spanner in Manchester United's work and put a dent in their title hopes on Sunday.
Liverpool have also never lost successive games under Jurgen Klopp and that is an incredible feat. This means that they've never found it hard to get back upon their feet after falling. They faltered against Southampton last week and the players will be charged up to return to winning ways as their old rivals pay them a visit.
By the look of things, Manchester United will have to outdo themselves vastly in order to even have a chance of getting something positive from the game.
#3 Liverpool are the more well-rounded side compared to Manchester United
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to be well aware of the progress that his side has made and how good they are. He has acknowledged the fact that despite being league leaders, if they beat Liverpool at Anfield, it will be a 'shock' or an 'upset'.
The Manchester United manager said:
“If you look at the last few seasons I think it would be an upset and it would be a shock. Our position at the moment is a product of all the hard work we've done in the training ground and what the players are putting down every single day and we probably deserve to be where we're at at the moment.
“I don’t think many would have thought anything but an upset if we went six weeks back and beat Liverpool at Anfield. We’re looking forward to the game and hoping we can cause that upset.”
Ole's side is a bit reliant on individual brilliance and their good run of form has an awful lot to do with the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford. When the two of them are not performing well, the team seems to struggle.
Even though Liverpool are shortstaffed at the back owing to injuries, they are still a well-rounded unit and possess the best attacking trio in the league. Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will have their hands full dealing with the full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, in addition to Mohamed Salah and Mane.
Thiago will be pulling the strings from midfield alongside Wijnaldum and as you can see, Liverpool have a lot of quality all across midfield and attack and if they can all show up and do their jobs, this match is theirs for the taking.
#2 Manchester United's error-prone defence could cost them once again
Though Eric Bailly has garnered a lot of praise for his heroics in recent weeks, even he has committed two errors that led to shots out of which one resulted in a goal against Tottenham Hotspur. Bailly is arguably Manchester United's best centre-back.
Harry Maguire's tackling has been quite suspect but the Englishman seems to have struck up a good partnership with Bailly. As a result, Solskjaer is likely to stick with the Maguire-Bailly duo in defence. On Sunday against Liverpool at Anfield, there will hardly be any room for error though.
Liverpool's attackers latch onto stray balls and half chances pretty well and punish defenders for their mistakes which is one of the reasons why they have been so successful in the recent past.
#1 Liverpool's mobile midfield has the edge over Manchester United
Nemanja Matic is a doubt for tomorrow's game and Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces a selection dilemma eitherway. He has often chosen a midfield of Fred and Scott McTominay against mobile midfield units but that would mean that he'd have to sacrifice an attacker.
With Anthony Martial also a doubt for the game, Manchester United are likely to go with the double pivot of Fred and McTominay with Bruno Fernandes playing in the no. 10 role. Paul Pogba is likely to be deployed further forward down the left side as he was against Burnley with Rashford and Cavani playing uptop.
Liverpool's midfield is more well-balanced and even if Fabinho is forced to cover at centre-back, they'll still have Henderson, Wijnaldum and Thiago in midfield.
Bruno Fernandes loves foraying forward and though he doesn't shy away from tracking back, Liverpool's all-action midfield looks well equipped to penetrate the extra cover of protection to the backline thanks to their experienced personnel.
