Right it is that time of the season again. After chaotically getting three points against Norwich at the weekend Manchester United now travel down to Anfield. With teams around us dropping points, the hope for top four was alive with United securing a win against the Canaries. However, that hope could be very short lived indeed as the Red Devils take on Jurgen Klopp’s dominant side. Here is what we could expect to see in this historic fixture.
Opposition
Liverpool are absolutely flying at the moment, as much as it pains to me say it, they seem genuinely unstoppable. They have already won the League Cup. They seemingly breezed past Man City in the first half at the weekend. And despite a late resurgence from the blues, Klopp’s men still held out for the win putting them in the FA Cup final. They are in the semi-finals of the Champions League. And they could yet still go on to win the League. The way that they are playing I doubt anyone in that dressing room will be worried about facing United right now. What a terrible time to a fan of Liverpool’s biggest rival.
With that in mind, here is how I expect Liverpool to line up. Klopp will undoubtedly stick with the 4-3-3 formation starting with Allison in net. Van Dijk and Matip at centre-back. Robertson at left-back and Alexander-Arnold on the right flank. The midfield three should be comprised of Fabinho, Thiago and Henderson. And then the front three will no doubt feature Mo Salah alongside Diogo Jota, with Luis Díaz featuring after doubts over Sadio Mané’s fitness.
Manchester United
Manchester United only just about managed to beat relegation fodder Norwich at the weekend. That was only down to a stunning hattrick from Cristiano Ronaldo. It seemed like everyone else on the pitch just didn’t want to play well, or even play at all. Even the players who have been relatively consistent this season had poor games at the weekend. The likes of Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes were not at their best. And then the midfield problems were plain to see. If you asked a United fan at the start of this season who we would miss the most heading into a game against Liverpool, I think you’d struggle to find many people saying Fred or McTominay. But with them both being doubts for the fixture and the energy that they bring to the pitch, I am struggling to see how we are going to cope in midfield.
Line-up
With that in mind, here is how I expect Ralf Rangnick to line us up. There have been some arguing for a back three or back five as it more likely would look. And this does make some sense, to try and negate the fact that we are missing that defensive energy in midfield, you would more heavily stack the defensive side of the team. If Raphael Varane was fully fit, I would not be surprised to see Ralf go for this. However, I don’t think he trusts Bailly or Jones. That seems justified as well. Jones has had one half-decent game in that fixture against Wolves, which we still lost 1-0. And Bailly just seems the forgotten man, barely playing under Ralf. I would be very surprised to see a change in formation.
And so I think Ralf will persist with the 4-3-3, starting with de Gea in net. As mentioned, Varane is doubtful to start, so expect to see Lindelof and Maguire. Alex Telles is set to return at left-back with Luke Shaw still out. Diogo Dalot could retain his place at right-back, although Ralf could opt for the more, supposedly, defensively sound option in Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
As for the midfield, there really isn’t too much to choose from. More than likely we are going to see Nemanja Matic alongside Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. As for the front three, Jadon Sancho is likely to return out wide. I think Ralf will go for Anthony Elanga on the opposite flank. After his brief stint at right-back against Norwich, the defensive side of his game will need to channelled against such a strong Liverpool attack. And then it has to be that man Cristiano Ronaldo up top.
Score Prediction
I am really not looking forward to this game. I don’t think any United fan has any delusion of hope that we can get something out of this game. If you told me now that I could go to sleep, wake up and United get one point, I would be more than happy with that. As awful as it feels to have that sentiment, it’s just a sad indictment of where we are right now. I can’t even bring myself to predict a draw, we are going to lose. Let’s try and not make it by five this time.