With the Premier League title race of their fingers, will Jürgen Klopp’s Reds emerge from Previous Trafford unscathed? We stay up for Sunday’s sport with our Manchester United vs Liverpool prediction and preview.
Manchester United vs Liverpool Stats: The Fast Hits
- The Opta supercomputer provides Liverpool a 44.0% likelihood of avenging their FA Cup loss to Manchester United with a win, with the Purple Devils’ probability of victory rated at 27.9%.
- Man Utd have confronted extra pictures than some other facet in Europe’s high 5 leagues in 2024 (225). With 255, Liverpool have tried probably the most.
- Mohamed Salah has scored in his final three away Premier League video games in opposition to Man Utd, netting 5 objectives in complete. No visiting participant has ever scored on 4 successive journeys to Previous Trafford within the competitors.
Match Preview
Undeterred by midweek wins for his or her rivals, Liverpool returned to the Premier League summit on Thursday with a 3-1 win over a gutsy Sheffield United at Anfield, maintaining the title race of their fingers. On Sunday, Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis will discover themselves within the peculiar place of wanting a favour from Manchester United, as Jürgen Klopp’s males look to avenge final month’s FA Cup exit by the hands of the Purple Devils.
On paper, a visit to Previous Trafford appears to be among the many extra daunting fixtures awaiting Liverpool earlier than the top of the season, however United are as soon as once more in turmoil after being shocked by two late exhibits of their final two matches.
5 days after Kristoffer Ajer’s 99th-minute equaliser noticed them give up a 1-0 lead at Brentford, United went from 3-2 as much as 4-3 down within the blink of an eye fixed in opposition to Chelsea on Thursday, Cole Palmer changing a penalty 10 minutes into stoppage time then finishing his hat-trick 81 seconds later to spark pandemonium at Stamford Bridge. United led with 99 minutes and 17 seconds performed – the most recent any group has ever led a Premier League match they went on to lose.
Although Erik ten Hag insisted United had completed sufficient to come back away with three factors, the Dutchman is beneath rising stress to cease their continuous circulation of possibilities conceded. United have now confronted 225 pictures within the Premier League in 2024, greater than some other group in Europe’s huge 5 leagues. Liverpool have tried probably the most, firing off 255.
225 – Manchester United have confronted extra pictures than some other facet in Europe’s big-five leagues in 2024 (225). Regarding. pic.twitter.com/mVEgUEEfRo
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 4, 2024
As if Ten Hag didn’t have sufficient issues on his fingers, Raphaël Varane and Jonny Evans have been pressured off in opposition to Chelsea and are uncertain for Sunday’s sport. With Lisandro Martínez and Victor Lindelöf already sidelined, 19-year-old Willy Kambwala could also be drafted in to accomplice Harry Maguire.
Vibrant performances from Alejandro Garnacho – who netted twice – and Antony provided some comfort for Ten Hag, who should now determine whether or not to reintroduce Marcus Rashford. The England worldwide has scored seven objectives for United in opposition to Liverpool in all competitions, the most recent of these coming in final month’s cup traditional. Solely George Wall, Sandy Turnbull (each 9) and Stan Pearson (eight) have bettered that tally for the Purple Devils.
United do have a knack for pulling out an enormous outcome simply because the stress begins to mount. They’ve gained 4 of their 5 dwelling Premier League video games in opposition to groups beginning the day inside the highest 4 beneath Ten Hag (one defeat), most not too long ago beating Aston Villa 3-2 on Boxing Day.
Remarkably, Ten Hag additionally has the perfect dwelling win ratio of any everlasting supervisor in United’s historical past, successful 38 of his 53 video games on dwelling soil (71.7%) to sit down simply forward of Sir Alex Ferguson (71.2%).
United’s final dwelling match, in fact, noticed them finish the quadruple desires of Liverpool, who might be in no temper for a repeat outcome after taking management of the title race with a run of six wins in seven Premier League video games (one draw).
The Reds threatened to drop factors on Thursday as Conor Bradley’s personal objective cancelled out Darwin Núñez’s freak opener to pull Sheffield United degree, however Alexis Mac Allister’s thunderous effort was adopted by Cody Gakpo’s header as they re-established their two-point lead on the summit.
Klopp’s males appear to be gathering momentum as they give the impression of being to offer the German with a dream send-off, successful extra matches (16) and scoring extra objectives (59) throughout all competitions in 2024 than some other group from Europe’s high 5 leagues.
That’s regardless of them being with out the likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota for an prolonged interval. They’re all more likely to miss Sunday’s sport, although Klopp expects Wataru Endō to be accessible after lacking Thursday’s match with a knock.
Núñez’s opener on Thursday made him simply the sixth Premier League participant to document 30 objective involvements throughout all competitions this season (18 objectives, 12 assists), and the second Liverpool participant after Mohamed Salah (22 objectives, 12 assists). Each might have huge roles to play on Sunday.
Núñez has been concerned in eight objectives in his final 9 away video games in all competitions (seven objectives, one help), whereas Salah has scored in every of his final three away matches in opposition to United within the Premier League (5 objectives in complete). No visiting participant has ever scored on 4 straight journeys to Previous Trafford within the competitors.
Manchester United vs Liverpool Head-to-Head
The final assembly between the edges will dwell lengthy within the reminiscence, with United sealing a 4-3 extra-time win in an FA Cup quarter-final thriller final month.
Antony’s 87th-minute strike pressured further time at 2-2, then Harvey Elliott restored Liverpool’s benefit, just for objectives from Rashford and Amad Diallo to fireside the hosts into the final 4.
United might now win two dwelling video games in opposition to Liverpool throughout the identical season for simply the third time, beforehand doing so in 1998-99 and 2010-11.
The Purple Devils additionally managed to carry their rivals to a goalless draw at Anfield on this season’s reverse fixture. Liverpool haven’t failed to attain in each league conferences with United because the 2007-08 marketing campaign, after they suffered 1-0 and 3-0 defeats.
Nonetheless, United have gained simply one in every of their final 11 Premier League matches in opposition to Liverpool (4 attracts, six defeats), although that lone victory did come on this precise fixture final season – a 2-1 success that was additionally Ten Hag’s first Premier League win. They final gained consecutive dwelling league video games in opposition to the Reds in September 2015.
Latest Kind
Having gone unbeaten by means of their first 5 league video games of 2024 (4 wins, one draw), United have solely gained one in every of their final 5 (one draw, three defeats), beating Everton 2-0 final month.
Thursday’s defeat was United’s twelfth within the Premier League this season. They’ve by no means suffered extra in a single marketing campaign within the competitors, additionally dropping 12 instances in 2013-14 and 2021-22.
Liverpool, in the meantime, have gained six of their final seven away Premier League matches (one defeat). Their earlier six highway victories within the competitors came visiting a span of 19 video games (seven attracts, six defeats).
The Reds have additionally scored in 26 consecutive away video games throughout all competitions, solely as soon as having fun with an extended run of their historical past, netting on 28 straight highway journeys between January and December 2021.
Opta Energy Rankings
The Opta Energy Rankings are a world group rating system that assigns a capability rating to over 13,000 home soccer groups on a scale between zero and 100, the place zero is the worst-ranked group on the planet and 100 is the perfect group on the planet.
Forward of kick-off at Previous Trafford this weekend, right here is the Opta Energy Rating for either side.
Manchester United vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups
Manchester United vs Liverpool Prediction
Throughout 10,000 match simulations performed by the Opta supercomputer forward of kick-off, Liverpool took a vital three factors in 44.0% of situations.
That does imply United are given a 56.0% likelihood of denting Liverpool’s title hopes by taking one thing from the sport, successful in 27.9% of simulations and incomes a attract 28.1%.
Forward of this weekend’s fixtures, the supercomputer put Liverpool’s probabilities of successful the Premier League title at 45.0%, making them clear favourites forward of Metropolis (33.6%) and Arsenal (21.4%).
United have seen their hopes of a top-four end – which might assure UEFA Champions League qualification – drop to simply 0.6%. They’re seen as extra more likely to end within the backside half (1.1%) than the highest 4, however sixth (52.2%) stays their commonest place in our projections.
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