In one of the biggest Premier League derbies in history, Manchester United will be hosting Liverpool. This derby has tons of history, as these teams have the most titles in English history. While Manchester United has been dominant in the Premier League era with 13 titles, Liverpool has definitely had a better time in the First Division era, with 18 titles.
In the last couple of years, however, Manchester United cannot compare their success with Liverpool. Klopp's squad won one title and seriously challenged a couple more, while also playing two Champions League finals and one win in those. On the other hand, the Red Devils won one Europa League but otherwise had no major success in Europe, while also being dominated by Manchester City and Liverpool in the league.
Even though this was an unpredictable game in the past, here are three bold predictions about the upcoming derby!
Man United v Liverpool Predictions
Mohamed Salah will shine again and strengthen his case for the Golden Ball
The Golden Ball – or Ballon d'Or – is a very prestigious award for footballers. With the complete dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it was almost an afterthought that there will be players that win it after them. This year, it seems like a lot of candidates are popping up. Karim Benzema, Messi himself, Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho, and one player that will take part in the Manchester United versus Liverpool game – Mo Salah.
Salah has been absolutely fantastic this year. He appeared in 11 games and scored 12 times, seven of which came in the Premier League. Against United, Salah scored four times in eight apps, and he will be the main player who will determine the overall result in the derby. His goalscoring will be key for a Liverpool squad. He will be coming up against Luke Shaw, a very good defender. However, it will be interesting to see whether Shaw, a good but slow player, will be able to keep up with the Egyptian.
Cristiano Ronaldo lives for these games – he will be amazing again
Salah is a great player, but Ronaldo will still be the player to watch in the derby. The Manchester United legend kept the Devils afloat again during the week, scoring against Atalanta to complete the comeback for the English outfit. The Portuguese veteran lives for these moments where he can be the hero and it is a similar game against Liverpool on Sunday.
Simply said – Manchester United needs help to stay in the fight for the Premiership. Even winning against Liverpool puts them five points behind leaders Chelsea, which defeated the overmatched Norwich 7-0 on Saturday. Losing against Liverpool would likely mean an early exit from the title race, and a highly competitive Ronaldo does not want that to happen, especially since the competition in the Champions League is too strong for United to compete for that European title.
Thus, all stars simply align for the Manchester United striker to have a great game. Also, he only scored three goals against Liverpool in 11 games, and both United games came at Old Trafford. This seems like the make-or-break game for his team and that is exactly where Ronaldo thrives. Liverpool has a great defense, highlighted by Virgin van Dijk, but Ronaldo has broken even tougher defensive lines on his day. The Red Devil fans all around the world are hoping for another Ronaldo big game this Sunday.
Liverpool will win and make this the most interesting season in recent memory
Regardless of the prediction about Ronaldo, it just seems like Liverpool will be ahead of United on this day. Across the board, the squad that Jurgen Klopp coaches is just better than what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has at his disposal. While Ronaldo is amazing, he is simply not enough to get United over the top against the squad of this quality. Additionally, Liverpool has the balance that United does not have, and that will be key coming into the game.
Coaching is also a big difference. United has Solskjaer and while he is obviously the choice Manchester United is sticking with, he is definitely not the quality that the aspirations of the club demand. On the other hand, Klopp's record and quality are undeniable and he is one of the best coaches in the world, let alone just the Premier League.
The midfield is probably the biggest difference-maker in this game. Liverpool has guys like Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to hold the line and really provide them with stability. On the other hand, Manchester United has Fred and Nemanja Matic, which is a significant drop-off from Liverpool's names and quality mentioned above.
While it will be an exciting game, it is clear that the quality on the side of Liverpool, on paper, will be too much for Manchester United to handle.
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