Prediction: Manchester United vs Liverpool

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 16/25

Bookmaker: Unibet

The clash of the two most successful clubs in the history of football in England comes early this season. On Monday evening, 20-time English and three-time European champions Manchester United are set to play host to 19-time English and six-time European champions Liverpool at Old Trafford.

It should be said, however, that there is a slight possibility for the match to get postponed or cancelled. A group of Manchester United supporters broke into Old Trafford ahead of this exact fixture in 2021, and as the venue was supposed to empty as part of the COVID-19 measures in place at the time, the match was postponed. Similar protests have been announced again for Monday.

Speaking at his press conference on Friday, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said he expects the match to played and expressed hope that it would be so, but in the case it proves impossible, he believes there should be no postponement this time and that his team should be awarded the three points.

Be that as it may, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, and that we are treated to an exciting contest between two fierce rivals.

Manchester United

The protests announced are aimed against the Glazer family’s ownership of the club. Many believe it to be the root of all problems which have been pulling the club backwards since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, most notably their inability to genuinely compete for the Premier League title again.

United’s latest attempt to bounce back up is the appointment of Erik ten Hag, but the Dutchman’s tenure hasn’t begun in the way he would’ve wanted it to. His team were first beaten 1-2 by Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford, and then they were shockingly smashed 4-0 by Brentford at the Community Stadium last week. It may be very early in the season, but sitting at the bottom of the table is not the look Manchester United want for themselves at any point.

There has, of course, been activity in the transfer market and it’s only to be expected that the new signings take time to adapt, and even the old names have to get used to the way Ten Hag wants them to play. That much was obvious during the first two matches of the season.

Midfielder Paul Pogba (Juventus), forward Jesse Lingard (Nottingham Forest), attacking midfielder Juan Mata and striker Edinson Cavani have all left the club as free agents. Midfielders Nemanja Matic and Andreas Pereira have been sold to AS Roma and Fulham, respectively. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson and left-back Alex Telles have joined Nottingham Forest and Sevilla, respectively, on loan for the season. The future of Cristiano Ronaldo remains up in the air, as the Portuguese superstar reportedly wants out but there have been no takers as of yet.

On the other hand, the club brought in Christian Eriksen, the former Tottenham Hotspur star who has joined as a free agent after six months with Brentford. His spell with the Bees followed his recovery from the cardiac arrest suffered at the Euros last year, which eventually caused his contract with Inter Milan to be terminated.

Left-back Tyrell Malacia has come in to compete with Luke Shaw for the starting role, and centre-back Lisandro Martinez is expected to improve the shaky back line and help play out from the back. Forward Anthony Martial has returned from his loan with Sevilla and if pre-season is anything to go by, he could have a big part to play.

But the biggest coup of the lot for United has only just come in. Having pursued in vain the likes of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Adrien Rabiot of Juventus to strengthened their midfield section, they eventually managed to agree a deal to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid, offering to pay €60 million straight up and €10m more in the form of add-ons for the experienced Brazil international.

The start has been tough, but like all managers coming into a new league, Ten Hag needs time to change the mentality of his players and get them playing the way he wants them to. The only question is whether he’ll be afforded that time at a club where the results have been falling short of expectations for nine years.

Team News

Casemiro’s transfer has come too late for him to be involved in this clash, so he is expected to observe it from the stands at Old Trafford. Martial has returned to team training after a thigh injury, but it remains to be seen if he regains full fitness in time to lead the line against Liverpool. Most likely it’ll still be Ronaldo, despite the cloud over his future, flanked by Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

It will be interesting to see the back line Ten Hag goes with. Martinez started alongside captain Harry Maguire against Brentford, as did Shaw on the left, but both were taken off at halftime with Raphael Varane and Malacia taking their places.

Fred is set to anchor the midfield, and logic says it should be Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes in there as well, but that trio didn’t work to well last week either, so Ten Hag may decide to make changes there as well. Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek will surely be hoping for it.

Liverpool

The season hasn’t exactly had a dream start for Liverpool either. Having missed out on the title last term by a single point, they’re understandably expected to have another go this time around, but their unexpected draws away to Fulham (2-2) and at home against Crystal Palace (1-1) had already put them four points behind defending champions Manchester City; not to mention the fact that Arsenal have already won their third match and gone seven points ahead of the Merseysiders, topping the table at the time of writing (Sunday early afternoon).

Klopp admits that the performance of his team against Fulham was bad, but he was much happier with the way they played against Palace when, despite playing for more than half an hour with 10 men, they had 73% possession and took 17 shots more than the visitors. Luck simply wasn’t on their side in that match, but one might argue that it has to change some time if the performance levels remain this high.

There have been some notable changes in the playing personnel for Liverpool as well. After six extremely successful seasons at the club, Sadio Mane has joined Bayern Munich. Fan favourite Divock Origi has gone as free agent to AC Milan, while fellow forward Takumi Minamino and right-back Neco Williams have been sold to AS Monaco and Nottingham Forest, respectively. There have recently been rumours of midfielder Naby Keita being unhappy with his situation at the club and looking to leave, but Klopp has played them down since.

As for the incoming deals, the club paid a lot of money to sign striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica, but after a bright start to his life at Anfield and scoring in the Community Shield against Manchester City and at Craven Cottage against Fulham, the young Uruguayan earned a straight red card for a naive altercation with Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen.

With Mane gone, Fabio Carvalho has come in from Fulham to compete against Luis Diaz on the left wing, and 19-year-old Calvin Ramsay has taken the place in the squad vacated by Neco Williams’ departure as the cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.

And as for Liverpool’s biggest coup, it has to be getting Mohamed Salah to sign a new three-year deal after months of uncertainty over the future of the Egyptian star.

Team News

Apart from the red card-induced suspension of Nunez, Klopp has to make due without midfielders Thiago Alcantara (hamstring), Curtis Jones (calf) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring), defenders Joel Matip (groin) and Ibrahima Konate (knee), forward Diogo Jota (hamstring) and backup goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher (groin).

The good news for the German coach is that forward Roberto Firmino has recovered completely from his own injury issue, as has midfielder Naby Keita from a bout of illness.

Firmino will have to come straight back into the lineup in the absence of Nunez and Jota, likely flanked by Salah and Diaz. There is no real question about the back five, with Alisson Becker sure to start between the posts, Virgil van Dijk partnered by Joe Gomez in the heart of defence, and the pair of Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold on the flanks.

In midfield, however, there is some choice to made despite three players from the section missing. Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Harvey Elliott, James Milner and Naby Keita are all vying for the three spots.

Conclusion

There are obviously many factors that can decide a match like this, but based on what we’ve seen from these teams so far, the quality remains on Liverpool’s side for the time being, and that makes them the favourites to win at Old Trafford again. Ten Hag will probably get his team in order at some point soon, but it still feels Monday will come too soon and similar issues are likely to plague them still against Liverpool’s notorious high-press style.

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 16/25

Bookmaker: Unibet