Preview: Liverpool vs. Manchester United - prediction, team news, lineups

Northern nemeses collide successful Sunday's Premier League main lawsuit astatine Anfield, wherever rubric favourites Liverpool invited a meek Manchester United to their Merseyside home.

Arne Slot's juggernaut clasp a gargantuan 23-point vantage implicit their long-time rivals successful the top-flight table, arsenic the Reds proceed their pursuit of stardom portion Ruben Amorim's troops adjacent nervously implicit their shoulder.

Match preview

© Imago

As Arsenal, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest scrap for the best-of-the-rest badge, Liverpool are yet to endure the dreaded dip successful signifier that immoderate person foreseen for Slot's crop, who ended 2024 arsenic they mean to statesman 2025 by putting 5 unanswered goals past West Ham United connected December 29.

Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo each made the London Stadium nets bulge to propel Liverpool to a 4th triumph connected the rotation successful each tournaments, arsenic good arsenic prolonging their unbeaten tally to a monumental 23 matches since their 1 and lone blip frankincense far.

Not since Nottingham Forest's mid-September success astatine Anfield person Slot's men travel retired connected the incorrect extremity of the scoreline, a fantastic tally of wintertime signifier that has near Liverpool six points amended disconnected than Arsenal astatine the summit, with a crippled successful manus to boot.

Seldom failing to marque their attacking forays count, Liverpool participate Sunday's crippled aiming to people astatine slightest 2 goals for the 12th Premier League crippled running, and each of their past 3 victories has seen the league leaders find the backmost of the nett 3 times oregon more.

Defensive vulnerabilities connected the roadworthy successful peculiar did rear their disfigured heads for Liverpool implicit the festive period, but shutting retired West Ham successful the superior saw Slot's squad extremity a four-game tally without a cleanable expanse successful each competitions, and they person officially overtaken location specialists Brentford arsenic the best-performing squad successful the onshore connected their ain patch.

© Imago

As Liverpool rejoice successful a four-match winning sequence, their feeble foes are coincidentally conducting their post-mortem of their 4th successive defeat, having been thoroughly outwitted and outplayed by a fired-up Newcastle United connected their ain spot connected December 30.

A nightmarish archetypal fractional saw Alexander Isak and Joelinton flaunt their aerial strengths earlier the humiliating aboriginal substitution of Joshua Zirkzee, whose alteration did precede an betterment successful show levels from Amorim's side, but not capable to overturn the aboriginal deficit.

On the backmost of their 3rd consecutive league nonaccomplishment astatine location - a destiny that had not befallen them since 1979 - the words Man United and relegation are present being utilized successful the aforesaid condemnation unironically, arsenic Amorim's strugglers are conscionable 7 points wide of the driblet portion successful a lowly 14th position.

Having besides failed to breach Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers' nets, Man United are astatine hazard of losing 4 consecutive league games without scoring for the archetypal clip successful astir 116 years, and they person ne'er been beaten successful 4 consecutive top-flight games successful the Premier League era.

However, breaking unwanted nine records has been the taxable for Man United during the Erik 10 Hag and admittedly short-lived Amorim eras, though the head-to-head grounds does not marque for arsenic grim speechmaking arsenic immoderate whitethorn think.

Indeed, Liverpool person lone beaten Man United successful 1 of their past 4 contests and could lone gully this fixture 0-0 past play - contempt having an astounding 34 shots - but that triumph for the Reds was a 3-0 Old Trafford trouncing successful September, wherever Salah produced 1 of his customary Mancunian masterclasses.

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool signifier (all competitions):

Manchester United Premier League form:

Manchester United signifier (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Liverpool's battering of West Ham was marginally marred by the hamstring wounded suffered by Joe Gomez, who volition beryllium missing for a fewer weeks, but Slot confirmed successful his pre-game property conference that Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (thigh) were owed to instrumentality to afloat grooming connected Friday.

However, the duo volition lone person a maximum of 2 days of signifier nether their belts aft spending implicit a period successful the infirmary, truthful Slot should broadside with Jarell Quansah to spouse Virgil van Dijk connected Sunday, unless Konate tin rapidly beryllium his fitness.

The Reds tin besides callback Dominik Szoboszlai to the fold aft helium served a one-game suspension astatine the London Stadium, though Curtis Jones volition not cede his spot easy aft mounting up Salah's 17th extremity of the Premier League play connected December 29.

Speaking of midfielders returning from suspensions, Man United duo Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes are eligible to play again aft watching connected helplessly against Newcastle, and Amorim should not hesitate to propulsion some men backmost into the archetypal XI close away.

The aforesaid tin beryllium said of Kobbie Mainoo, who was a uncommon agleam spark successful the Man United squad aft replacing the inconsolable Zirkzee, who volition surely cede his spot alongside seasoned midfielders Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.

Wantaway attacker Marcus Rashford made his instrumentality to the matchday squad connected Monday aft his little but well-documented exile, though Mason Mount (thigh), Victor Lindelof (unspecified) and Luke Shaw (calf) volition miss retired again.

Liverpool imaginable starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz

We say: Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United

Disjointed successful attack, susceptible astatine the backmost and struggling massively to accommodate to the demands of an Amorim system, Man United are astatine hazard of being wholly overrun astatine Anfield, though expected recalls for Ugarte, Mainoo and Fernandes should mean that their show is not astatine pitiful arsenic it was against Newcastle.

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