#3 Jose Mourinho vs Jurgen Klopp
Alright, we might be cheating here, but if the past few games have taught us anything, it’s that this particular encounter will be decided more in the dressing room and training grounds than on the pitch itself.
When United visited Anfield earlier this season, the game was a tactical stalemate (and quite honestly, a bore) due to Mourinho parking the bus and Liverpool being unable to break it down. A shot from Coutinho which forced a world class De Gea save and a botched Ibrahimovic chance were the highlights of that game as the Reds were left frustrated and United took away a point.
In the past few games, Mourinho’s men have been playing some freestyle, enjoyable football that the fans have missed since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson. Liverpool, on the other hand, have been average since their loss against Bournemouth and as seen recently against Southampton, Plymouth, and Sunderland, they have been unable to break down sound defensive units and the absence of Sadio Mane only hampers them further.
When City came to Anfield on New Year’s Eve and attempted to play free flowing football, the Reds caught them on the break and won the game. The question then that Mourinho needs to ask himself is whether he should deploy a defensive approach. Sure, at Anfield it worked well, but to play like that at Old Trafford would be against the very nature of United’s footballing brand.
But if his team do play the way they have been in the past few games, Liverpool will be free to counter and it might actually work in their favour, as Chelsea, Arsenal and City have already found out this season.
Klopp needs to sort out his midfield and attack too, and will himself be in a dilemma as to whether to play Can and go with Firmino as a false 9 or start either Sturridge or Origi.
At the end of the day, this game could go either way and even though United are favourites to win, taking Liverpool for granted is something no one will do and we can expect a high octane 90 minutes as the two rivals battle it out.
