Manchester United vs Liverpool: Return of the 'nutmeg' king

Luis Suarez’s return is the main talking point

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Time: 2315 hrs IST, 1945 hrs BST

Every United-Liverpool match goes down in history as something special. The most anticipated fixture in English football is set for yet another appearance at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. But this time around, there is another reason which makes it even more special. After an inhuman biting incident, Luis Suarez is set to return to club football after serving a 10-match ban. As much as you may not like him, you just cannot help being excited by his return.

Those impossible dribbles, classy nutmegs out of nowhere, stunning free-kicks and a burning desire to win is what makes him stand out from the rest of the crowd. Liverpool have been top-notch this season but this man is the one who can take them the extra mile towards victory.

Three weeks ago, Liverpool pulled off a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Anfield after a Daniel Sturridge goal. By no means was it an extraordinary performance, but was enough to snatch three points and climb atop the table. David Moyes’s first match against Liverpool was no contrast to the disastrous record he had in the Mersyside Derby while at Everton.

However, now he gets a chance at redemption against Liverpool in the upcoming Capital One Cup third round tie. After an excellent run in the first three games of the Premier League season, Liverpool lost this week against Southampton. On the other hand, Manchester United will play this match on the back of a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

On most occasions, one would expect the manager to not play the full first team in the League Cup but that may not be the case this time around. Since it is a derby and a tough encounter, you can assume that it is highly probable that the managers would put up a full-fledged starting XI.

Teams

“He just can’t wait to get playing again,” said Rodgers. ‘There’s a real determination in him now. Obviously there was a lot going on over the course of the summer, but he’s trained hard and his entrance back into the squad now is perfect timing really.”

This is what Rodgers had to say about the return of Suarez after an absence of 155 days. Rodgers is likely to stick with his usual 4-3-3 formation with an attacking trio of Sturridge, Suarez and Aspas. Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger can be expected to slot in at the centre of the defence with Wisdom and Jose Enrique on the flanks. In front of them, he would go with the usual pairing of Gerrard and Lucas with Henderson playing in an advanced midfield role. Simon Mignolet is expected to be the man between the sticks.

Coutinho and Johnson’s absence due to injury shouldn’t really affect them as they still have an excellent squad.

You can expect Steven Gerrard to be the hub of the midfield dictating the play. Jordan Henderson would be the link between midfield and attack and his play will have a big telling on the game. Liverpool’s game is built on their fluidity of passing and they would expect to play the game built on a smooth transition from defence to attack.

The return of Luis Suarez gives an extra dimension for them to play on. He can start as the target man and still influence the proceedings with his movement around the penalty area. His link-up with Sturridge was good last season and he should expect to keep it up this season. Sturridge is on a very good run and United should have a tough time dealing with two world-class strikers.

Javier Hernandez could get a rare start

United’s weakness of playing against two strikers was exposed when they played against Manchester City. Likewise, Sturridge and Suarez should trouble the United defence which is going through a rough patch.

On the other end, Moyes is unlucky to have Robin Van Persie ruled out of this game owing to a thigh injury. Rooney is on a free-scoring run and will look to expose Liverpool’s weakness against set-pieces. Fellaini is cup-tied and cannot play the match. This leaves Moyes with no choice but to start with Cleverly and Carrick in the centre of the park. David De Gea is expected to start in front of goal.

With Ferdinand and Vidic having anything but impressed in the last three games you would expect Moyes to replace them with Smalling and Evans, who is back from injury. Evra should make left-back and the right back is likely to be a choice between Fabio and Rafael, who’s fitness level is unsure. If he is fit, you could expect Rafael to make the XI but otherwise Fabio would be a good choice.

Having lost van Persie, Chicharito can be expected to make his first start this season playing upfront. Rooney should slot in the ‘hole’ with Nani and Kagawa taking up the wings.

In the last two games, Young has been a disaster and Valencia was caught napping more often than not against City. This match could provide the opportunity for Janujaz and Zaha who have a realistic chance of a cameo if they make the bench.

At the back, Ferdinand looks lost for pace and Vidic is no longer the player we saw two years ago. Smalling has been solid defensively and Evans has improved greatly over the last two seasons. The reason either of the twins should play at right-back is that the lack of a natural right back has cost United this season. A makeshift player is not a solution, he is more of a problem.

Smalling, even though he is sound defensively, he is inept at attacking and has lost possession in some very good positions which wouldn’t have happened had Rafael or Fabio played. Moving on to the midfield, Carrick and Cleverly must control the proceedings to create an impact on the game.

Cleverly played well against City after coming on for Young and increased the pace of the game greatly. So, he should play the role of ball-carrier while Carrick sits deep and covers the backline. Kagawa, Rooney and Nani who make up the attacking trio behind the striker must pull off their socks and create an impact on the game.

All three of them are very good at exchanging positions and are effective on the break. This is further strengthened when Chicharito plays as the No.9. He links up well with Rooney and Nani and has the pace to beat the offside trap on the counter. He times his runs perfectly and he should hope to get his name on the scoresheet.

Whatever happens we are in for an exciting match at Old Trafford tomorrow. With both the teams equally matched, a shoot-out is always on the cards.

Probable line-ups:

Liverpool – Mignolet; Andre Wisdom, Daniel Agger, Kolo Toure, Jose Enrique; Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson; Iago Aspas, Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge.

Manchester United - David de Gea; Fabio da Silva, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Patrice Evra; Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverly; Luis Nani, Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa; Javier Hernandez.