Kick-Off: 14:00 (UK)
Venue: Anfield
TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1
Liverpool
League Position: 8th
Recent Form: WWWLL
Where do we even start with Liverpool. Four consecutive defeats in all competitions, their worst run in nearly 30 years, and now Liverpool find themselves on the verge of capitulation. Their league title dreams were left in tatters as Sunderland, aided by a beach ball, sentenced Liverpool to their second successive defeat in the league while their woes were extended in midweek when Lyon scored late on to record a huge victory over Rafa Benitez’s side at Anfield, a venue which used to be a fortress on European nights.
Injuries is just one of the many excuses Liverpool fans may use but Benitez has signed well over 70 players during his five year stint at the club and we feel the blame falls mainly on his shoulders. The lack of depth within the club is incredible, and this shown in Liverpool’s defeat on Tuesday as they were a completely different side without their talismanic duo; Steven Gerrard & Fernando Torres. The former limped off after just 15 minutes and is a major doubt ahead of the arrival of Manchester United, while Fernando Torres, according to our sources anyway, has yet to even return to training and that’s disastrous news for Liverpool fans.
The bench on Tuesday consisted of Ryan Babel & Fabio Aurelio, we mustn’t forget Andriy Voronin, although, it was hard to notice him when he came on late into second half as his impact on the game was next to nothing. Aurelio was the only player who would get into Liverpool’s starting eleven for most games, the rest simply aren’t cut out for this level of football and Liverpool will continue to struggle unless they build an actual squad and stop concentrating on just the starting eleven.
So far Liverpool have won three out of four at home but their three victories have come over some of the leagues poorest sides in Stoke City, Burnley & Hull City. They were defeated by Aston Villa earlier in the season, losing 3-1, with Villa being the only side with genuine quality to play to Anfield thus far. United are a much better side than Villa and you could forgive us for having doubts over Liverpool’s credentials this weekend.
The confidence within the Liverpool dressing room must be at an all time low as the Reds haven’t suffered such a demoralising run in years. They look clueless without their captain, Steven Gerrard, leading them forward while their defence was non-existent at times, and while Benitez’s is still reluctant to bin his stupid Zonal marking policy, we won’t be backing them again against any of the big sides until we see some vast improvements. They have already conceded 13 goals in just nine games, an unheard of defensive statistic for a team that normally boasts one of the leanest defences come the end of the year.
Manchester United
League Position: 1st
Recent Form: WWWDW
It’s not often that the away side in a ‘Big Four’ clash is viewed as the favourite but that will be the case this weekend as Man Utd make the relatively short trip to Merseyside to take on their bitterest of rivals; Liverpool, at Anfield. The ‘Red Devils’ came up short in both meetings last season, losing 2-1 on Merseyside but then emphatically losing the reverse clash 4-1 at Old Trafford. It will be the latter result that will live long in the memory for the United fans but for all the wrong reasons. However, they can undo their wrong doings in that clash as they have a golden opportunity to hand Liverpool a hammering of their own, with their opponents struggling to field any world-class players for this clash.
There is no team in the country that Alex Ferguson hates losing to more than Liverpool, a club that has won just as many league titles as United, albeit with Liverpool’s last title coming over 18 years ago. Nevertheless, Fergie will have several ‘things to do’ this season and, although one of them will be to secure United’s 19th league title, a feat which would take them above Liverpool in the all time league titles leader board, he will also be keen to exact some revenge on Liverpool’s rare league double of last season.
Manchester United look more than capable of beating Liverpool on their own patch with the form and momentum currently on their side. Their narrow 1-0 victory away in Moscow, on Wednesday evening, was ideal as it kept the United ball rolling but, more importantly, United have gone eight games without defeat back in the league, with seven of those coming in the form of wins. They have won on their last three away outings in the Premiership, all by comfortable margins, although, neither were against any of the ‘Big Four’ but the ‘Red Devils will certainly be full of confidence that they can put Liverpool back in their place and as good as bury their title bid for the season by humiliating them in front of their own fans.
Several key players didn’t travel to Russia for Wednesday clash with CSKA and that will mean that several will face late fitness tests ahead of this trip to Anfield. Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra, Ji-Sung Park & Ryan Giggs all missed the trip in midweek and, although several will return for this trip to Anfield, none are certainties.
Head-to-Head (Last 10):
Liverpool W: 2 Manchester United W: 7 Draws: 1
Liverpool have a dire record against the ‘Red Devils’ and were it not for their double victory over United last season, United would have had an even flattering head-to-head record over one of their bitter rivals. However, it’s recent form that counts and Liverpool will be buoyed by their league double of last season, beating United both home (2-1) & away (1-4), although, there is no getting away from United’s dominance in previous encounters.
Key Player:- Javier Mascherano
With the liklihood of both Steven Gerrard & Fernando Torres both missing this fixture, Liverpool will look ordinary at best, and United will look to attack Liverpool right from the word ‘Go’. Mascherano will form a defensive blanket over what has been an extremely vulnerable Liverpool back four and his input it’s imperative in how Liverpool will fare on Sunday. A bad day at the office for him and it could be goodnight for Liverpool and their bid to end their title drought.
Games between the two teams
|
| ALL | at Liverpool |
| Games | 146 | 73 |
| Liverpool | 49 | 34 |
| draw | 42 | 18 |
| Man Utd | 55 | 21 |
Last 10 games this season
|
| Liverpool | Man Utd |
| OverallForm | WWWWLWL | WWWWWLW |
| Clean Sheets | 2 | 3 |
| NotScored | 0 | 1 |
Liverpool vs Man Utd statistics this season
1x2
|
| 1 | X | 2 | ||||
| Liverpool | all | 5 | 71% |
| 0% | 2 | 28% |
|
| home | 3 | 75% |
| 0% | 1 | 25% |
| Man Utd | all | 6 | 85% |
| 0% | 1 | 14% |
|
| away | 3 | 75% |
| 0% | 1 | 25% |
Double chance
|
| 1 or X | X or 2 | 1 or 2 | ||||
| Liverpool | all | 5 | 35% | 2 | 14% | 7 | 50% |
|
| home | 3 | 37% | 1 | 12% | 4 | 50% |
| Man Utd | all | 6 | 42% | 1 | 7% | 7 | 50% |
|
| away | 3 | 37% | 1 | 12% | 4 | 50% |
Goals Under/Over (2.5)
|
| Under | Over | |||
| Liverpool | all |
| 0% | 7 | 100% |
|
| home |
| 0% | 4 | 100% |
| Man Utd | all | 3 | 42% | 4 | 57% |
|
| away | 2 | 50% | 2 | 50% |
Goals Odd/Even
|
| Odd | Even | |||
| Liverpool | all | 4 | 57% | 3 | 42% |
|
| home | 1 | 25% | 3 | 75% |
| Man Utd | all | 5 | 71% | 2 | 28% |
|
| away | 2 | 50% | 2 | 50% |
Statistics this season
|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | |
| Liverpool | All | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 15 |
|
| Home | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 9 |
| Man Utd | All | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 18 |
|
| Away | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 9 |
Goals / game this season
|
| GF+GA | GF | GA | |
| Liverpool | All | 4.57 | 3.14 | 1.43 |
|
| Home | 4.75 | 3.75 | 1 |
| Man Utd | All | 3.29 | 2.43 | 0.86 |
|
| Away | 3 | 2.5 | 0.5 |
Last games for
Liverpool
| 2009-09-26 | Liverpool | (6-1) | Hull |
| 2009-09-19 | West Ham | (2-3) | Liverpool |
| 2009-09-12 | Liverpool | (4-0) | Burnley |
| 2009-08-29 | Bolton | (2-3) | Liverpool |
| 2009-08-24 | Liverpool | (1-3) | Aston Villa |
| 2009-08-19 | Liverpool | (4-0) | Stoke City |
| 2009-08-16 | Tottenham | (2-1) | Liverpool |
| 2009-05-24 | Liverpool | (3-1) | Tottenham |
| 2009-05-17 | West Brom | (0-2) | Liverpool |
| 2009-05-09 | West Ham | (0-3) | Liverpool |
Manchester United
| 2009-09-26 | Stoke City | (0-2) | Man Utd |
| 2009-09-20 | Man Utd | (4-3) | Man City |
| 2009-09-12 | Tottenham | (1-3) | Man Utd |
| 2009-08-29 | Man Utd | (2-1) | Arsenal |
| 2009-08-22 | Wigan | (0-5) | Man Utd |
| 2009-08-19 | Burnley | (1-0) | Man Utd |
| 2009-08-16 | Man Utd | (1-0) | Birmingham |
| 2009-05-24 | Hull | (0-1) | Man Utd |
| 2009-05-16 | Man Utd | (0-0) | Arsenal |
| 2009-05-10 | Man Utd | (2-0) | Man City |
by matt soccerbetting.info , resultsfromfootball.com
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