Liverpool vs Man United Game Preview

Liverpool and Manchester United renew their rivalry when the Sky Sports cameras head to Anfield at 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon.

Arne Slot’s Reds are clear at the top of the Premier League standings and look poised for a glorious 2025 while their visitors are in awful form under Ruben Amorim, who has failed to get a tune out of his new team since his November appointment

Setting The Scene: 

Manchester United once held sway in one of English football’s most famous rivalries but there is no doubt as to which team are favourites for Sunday’s encounter.

Leaders Liverpool went into matchday 20 with a six-point buffer to Arsenal, plus a game in hand after December’s Merseyside derby was postponed, and Slot’s men look well placed to keep up the gallop in pursuit of a Premier League title in the Dutchman’s first season at the helm.

After a mid-December Anfield draw with Fulham, Liverpool enjoyed a productive festive period, hammering Tottenham 6-3, battling to a 3-1 win over Leicester then again firing on all cylinders in a 5-0 victory at West Ham.

United, on the other hand, are at a low ebb under their new manager, losing five of their last six matches, and while their sole victory in that run came on the road at Manchester rivals City, this looks a much tougher proposition.

Under Erik ten Hag, the Red Devils held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield last term but they suffered an infamous 7-0 loss on Merseyside in March 2023 and went down 4-0 the previous season.  

Tip 1: Liverpool to win to nil @ 5/4

Liverpool’s miserly defence gave out the odd Christmas gift in December but they registered a first clean sheet in five Premier League matches in a victory over West Ham last time out and they should post another win while keeping the Red Devils at bay.

United look bereft of confidence – they haven’t scored since that last-gasp mid-December win over Man City, and they have not managed to find the net at Anfield since the 2018/19 season, when Xherdan Shaqiri’s late double earned Liverpool a 3-1 victory.

The Reds are going great guns at home and away and while their sole Premier League loss this season came on their own patch, it’s hard to see them failing to claim three points against such troubled opposition.

Tip 2: Both teams to receive 2+ cards @ 6/5

Meetings between these two old foes are seldom sedate affairs and, with tensions running high in the United camp in particular, it’s likely that both teams could rack up their share of cards.

Both sides have received two or more cards in four of the last five meetings – the exception was earlier this year when Liverpool won 3-0 at Old Trafford in a match where there were five cards, but only one was shown to the Reds.

Tip 3: Virgil van Dijk first goalscorer @ 20/1

All eyes will be on scintillating Mo Salah but there could be value to be had at bigger prices in the goalscorer markets and Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk catches the eye at huge odds.

The big Dutchman has only one goal to his name this season but Manchester United have been noticeably poor when it comes to defending corners under Amorim, and he’ll fancy his chances of finding the net.