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Manchester United vs Liverpool Preview and Combined XI

   Published Date: January 19, 2020

Source: The Metro
The 19th January marks probably the biggest day on the footballing calendar for Manchester United as they travel to Anfield to play Liverpool. Liverpool will be heavy favourites as they sit high at the top of the Premier League while Manchester United sit in fifth position. United will be looking to cause an upset and give the league leaders their first loss of the campaign, while Liverpool will be looking to continue their perfect start in the league.

A victory will be a tough task for United and Solskjaer as not only are Liverpool unbeaten this season but, United are winless in their last four visits to Anfield drawing 2 and losing 2. However, there are a few positives for United when looking at the history of this fixture, as Liverpool have lost 28 Premier League matches versus Manchester United, eight more than against any other club. Additionally, Solskjaer’s United are unbeaten against the top four sides in the league this season, beating Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea and drawing with Liverpool.

Going on this season alone, there is a gulf in class between the two teams and their squads. While Liverpool have been dominant, Manchester United have been hugely inconsistent. This is mostly down to the quality of the two squads as Liverpool have several star players in the squad and a system that the players all fit into and are familiar with. On the other hand, Manchester United’s squad lacks the quality and depth of Liverpool’s team, and this is reflected in the league table.

Combined XI (Of Players likely to feature): De Gea; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Maguire, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Henderson, Fred; Salah, Rashford, Mané

A huge blow of Manchester United is the likely fact that star player and man in form, Marcus Rashford, is a major doubt with a back injury that was picked up in the previous game against Wolves. This is hugely significant for United as not only is Rashford United’s top goalscorer and best attacking threat, but he also has scored the opening goal in six Premier League games this season, a joint-league high prior to the latest round of fixtures.

Other team news for the game is that Luke Shaw is a doubt, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Marcos Rojo and Axel Tuanzebe remain out, though Eric Bailly could come into contention after featuring in a under 23’s game on Tuesday.

Predicted United XI: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire (c), Lindelof, Williams, Matic, Fred, Greenwood, Lingard, James, Martial

Predicted Result: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

Author: TUD Author