Liverpool vs Man Utd: Mane vs Wan Bissaka and two other key battles
Jordan Henderson vs Fred
Ah yes, the battle of the midfield engines. Fred gets a lot of grief for his performances, but they’ve been better this campaign and he’s become an important part of Solskjær’s engine room.
The Brazilian is okay at it all, but brilliant at very little. But Henderson and Fred will both try and get control of the midfield and allow their teams to play around them.
Henderson will bark orders and tackle and spring passes to more advanced team mates – and in the absence of Fabinho those are vital tasks. Fred will look at do the same, and makes nearly two tackles, just over one interception and one clearance per match.
He also carries the ball well, with three dribbles per game – say WhoScored. Whoever can give their team front foot ball and get the pacey wingers moving forward at speed will be providing the platform for victory.
Next. The best eight goals Liverpool have scored against Manchester United. dark
When Henderson is good at this role, it enables the others around him to break forward and cause problems. In a game where our full-backs might not be able to play as attacking a role as they normally would.