It doesn’t get much bigger than Liverpool vs Manchester United on the Premier League calendar. That’s why even with a weakened Man Utd side, the Reds can’t rest on their lorels.
With Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table with an eight-point cushion, and Manchester United sitting in 12th, it’s easy to see how the Reds have the upper hand going into Sunday’s fixture.
While Jurgen Klopp’s team is flying high with eight straight wins to start their campaign, Manchester United have already dropped 15 points on the season. Over their last games, United have only a single win.
United go into this fixture low on confidence thanks to a string of negative results. Compounding that is the loss of midfielder Paul Pogba and keeper David de Gea. Both will be sidelined for the clash at Old Trafford due to injury.
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For Liverpool, first-choice keeper Allison should be back in the lineup and both Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip are fully fit. The Reds will have a full-strength starting eleven.
Everything is going Liverpool’s way. But they can’t approach this game with any sort of complacency. United might be weak, but they aren’t dead in the water.
Manchester United still have talent up and down the roster. They’ll also be getting a few starting players back who weren’t in the lineup for the 1-0 loss to Newcastle.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw should both be back and healthy for United. Giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a near healthy back line to deal with a front line of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane.
Just like Virgil Van Dijk told Sky Sports this week, Manchester United can’t be underestimated.
"‘They’re not in the best way, they’re not fully confident and they’re not in the situation they want to be in. But the good thing about football is you can bounce back in any game. They might think this is the best occasion to bounce back from it but we know that. We want to go out and fight for every metre on the pitch and try and take the three points back to Liverpool."
Facing a dreaded rival, at home, is an incredible motivator for players to get their season back on track while simultaneously putting the first dent in Liverpool’s.
Liverpool will have the exact same lineup they put out against United the last time these two rivals clashed at Old Trafford. That game ended in 0-0 draw.
United have enough quality to steal a game from Liverpool if they don’t approach this game with the proper attention that it requires.