Preview: Liverpool vs. Manchester United
Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield with open arms on Sunday afternoon.
LIVERPOOL VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
| Sunday, January 5th |
Premier League | Anfield
4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST
Another week, another game against a mid-tier Premier League team. This time, it is with — hang on, let me check my notes — ah, Manchester United. Currently sitting in 14th on the table, a mighty seven points clear of the relegation zone, United didn’t score a single goal in their last three games. It may be that they are still getting used to new manager Ruben Amorim’s style of play, but it has been grim on both the red and blue sides of Manchester over this holiday season.
However, desperation to prove themselves is the best motivator, and there’s nothing that would indicate a turnaround in fortune than a victory against their bitter rivals at their own house.
Liverpool beat them handily when last they came up against each other in the fall. Since then, nothing about their high level of performance has changed. They are cruising six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand. Mohamed Salah is apparently aging backwards and leads the league in both goals and assists midway through the season. Arne Slot’s vision for the team has well and truly come to fruition.
Each game is a new challenge, though, and Liverpool should not enter this match with the cockiness that I’ve shown so far in this preview. The team should hopefully be up for it; the crowd will definitely be up for it. A win would maintain or extend their lead over Arsenal, depending on the results of the Gunners’ match against Brighton on Saturday evening.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz
Joe Gomez went off injured against West Ham, and he’ll be out for weeks dealing with a hamstring issue. While Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley returned to training on Friday, it’s unlikely that either will be on the bench, never mind in the starting XI. That means another big game for Jarell Quansah to prove his meddle alongside Virgil van Dijk in the backline. Back and ready to go after missing last week due to suspension is Dominik Szoboszlai.
For Manchester United, wantaway striker Marcus Rashford is out with illness, along with Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, and Mason Mount.
What the Managers Had to Say
Arne Slot: “For me, I said it before the first fixture and I can say it one more time, they have much better players, in my opinion, than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It’s maybe going to take a while for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players, I don’t know, but they will definitely go up and they are much, much, much better than the league shows at the moment.”
Ruben Amorim: “I am just focused on the performance. I am not focused on losing and what could happen. We know what we are going to face. My focus is to prepare the team. I want to improve that [the first 15 minutes vs Newcastle]. Are focus is not thinking about any bad result.”
The Officials
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Lee Betts. Fourth official: Craig Pawson. VAR: Chris Kavanagh. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.
If you haven’t done so already, take a moment to sign up for an SB Nation account and join the community at The Liverpool Offside, where we’ll bring you and your fellow Reds fans from around the world full coverage of every Liverpool match from the 2023-24 season in the Premier League, Europa League, and domestic cups along with breaking news, insight and opinion, tactical discussion, and post-match reaction
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
Post a Comment