Preview: Liverpool vs. Manchester United
All the info you need to know as Liverpool welcome bitter rivals Manchester United to Anfield.
LIVERPOOL VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
| Sunday, December 17th |
Premier League | Anfield
4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST
Liverpool made it into the top spot on the league table last week after their win against Crystal Palace. Now they start the process of defending their lead, and their first opponents are Manchester United.
Remember last year when United went to Anfield and were humiliated 7-0? Well, if you don’t, I promise you that they do. They’ll be looking to change the narrative from that game. While Liverpool are trying to stay top of the league, it’s Manchester United that are more desperate for some kind of result. They sit sixth in the league and just bombed out of Europe by ending up last in their group.
While the early Saturday matches are a pain for everyone, the good thing about them is that a win means you’re set for the rest of the weekend. With this Sunday timeslot, it’s possible that Liverpool will have dropped to third place by the time they even kick a ball.
While Liverpool lost their final Europa League group stage game in Belgium, the game was dead rubber anyway, so Klopp had the luxury of leaving big players like Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, and Virgil van Dijk home to rest.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Thank goodness there’s no character limit on these, because between the two teams there is quite the lengthy list of players who will be unavailable on Sunday.
For Liverpool, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Andrew Robertson, and Thiago Alcantara are all long term absences to the side that aren’t expected to return until after the new year. In additional to them, though, are Alexis Mac Allister and Diogo Jota, both of whom are not quite yet ready to join the team.
For Manchester United, ten Hag will be missing Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho, Amad Diallo, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, and Tyrell Malacia. Good news for United is that both Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford should be available.
What the Managers Had to Say
Jurgen Klopp: “That itself must make it a special game and that’s what I want to see from us: a special game. Really understand the situation and give your all – that’s all I need.”
Erik ten Hag: “I think everyone knows we have to be highly motivated when you go to Anfield. It is a great place to go and you know it is going to be tough. I think that is something which every top footballer wants, to have that challenge. You have to look forward and of course, last year, we have it in our memory, but you have to take the benefit from it. Learn from it. On Sunday, we can prove that.’’
The Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.
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Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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