Our live stream ahead of Sundays Premier League match, Liverpool vs Manchester United is now up, kicking off at 16.30 GMT
You can keep an eye on the commentary as it happens below, but first, we take a preview into the fixture, lineups, predictions and much more…
Jurgen Klopp’s side have picked up two points from their last three games and could go four without a victory in the Premier League for the first time since February 2017, having been held by West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United before losing at Southampton last time out.
Remarkably, Liverpool have never lost back-to-back league games under Klopp, last doing so in September 2015 under Brendan Rodgers when the second match in that run was a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Man United. Klopp himself has not overseen successive league defeats since April 2015, during his time in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
The champions have since bounced back with a 4-1 FA Cup triumph against Aston Villa’s youngsters to return to winning ways, but worryingly in the Premier League even their goals have seemingly dried up lately.
A run of 29 points from the last 33 on offer has seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side brush off a slow start to the campaign and soar to the top of the Premier League table, with Tuesday’s 1-0 triumph over Burnley lifting them three points above the champions and Sunday’s hosts.
It is the first time Man United have been top after as many as 17 games of a season since Sir Alex Ferguson led them to their 20th title in 2012-13, a tally Liverpool moved back to within one of with their triumph last season.
For Man United to even be in title contention this season is something of a surprise, and Solskjaer has insisted that victory for his side at Anfield would still constitute an “upset” and a “shock”, regardless of what the league table says.
The visitors will undoubtedly travel to Merseyside full of belief that they can come away with a statement-making win, though, having won nine and lost none of their last 11 top-flight outings stretching back to November 1.
It is almost exactly a year ago to the day since these two sides last met, when Mohamed Salah raced clear at the Kop end to score Liverpool’s second goal in a 2-0 victory…
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Jurgen Klopp
Covid protocols and goal celebrations…
“We will just try [to tone it down]. We all know the situation. The boys so far have done an incredible job to be disciplined with all the things around the virus. They will do their best if there is hopefully something to celebrate. It’s difficult.”
“When you run alone towards the goal and have the opportunity to score and in next situation you have to think about what you do next, it’s a proper challenge. Football is an emotional game. These players are tested 3 times a week.”
On Manchester United
“Winning against United is enough in itself, it’s not necessary there are special elements because of the situation they are in right now. They deserve the points they have. There is still a long way to go in the season. Man City are not too far behind.”
Matip update…
“Joel is close but does it make sense now to throw him in with one or two sessions he didn’t do yet? Today or tomorrow we haven’t done yet. We have to see. It’s not decided yet – why should we?”
On Rashford…
“I said it before, exceptional. He has some honours, absolutely right. A little a shame he has to do this work. He has done it because he had the same situation when he was a kid. Just great to see him never forgetting his roots. Exceptional.”
Bruno Fernandes threat…
“Outstanding player. We played Sporting in USA and that game you could see, wow. A difference maker and that is what he shows now. An influential player now. Goal involvements important but he is the link-up player and is a leader too. A good signing for Utd.”
Anfield record…
“Not at all [proud] as I’ve never thought about it. An OK record. Who cares if you don’t win the next one? So far, so good. We carry on and get better. It feels I’ve had more than 200 [overall]. All OK, nothing to think about.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Firstly, Wayne Rooney has been named as the new Derby County manager on a permanent basis – how do you think he’ll get on?
“Great news for Wayne and I really wish him all the best. I think he’s got everything going for him to be a good manager. He’s had a very good career, he’s got a very good personality and he wants to have success.”
“He’s played under some top managers and I’m sure he’s over the moon at the moment, so congratulations to him.”
Bruno has been named Player of the Month for a fourth time in the league. We know all about his goals and creativity but he’s also one of the top pressers in the league. Is that another side of his game that isn’t really spoken about?
“He always more or less tops the charts for total distance and high intensity. He’s got a great hunger and desire to win so that’s part of his game that people maybe don’t look at, but we appreciate all he’s putting in.”
“Of course all the goals and assists are one part of it, all the other bits are the things that really can make the difference for us. We’ve got talented players, definitely.”
Amad Diallo has come in – how’s he looking and what’s the plan?“Amad has looked really comfortable and he’s settled in really well in training. It shows how technically adept he is and, of course, we’ll give him time to settle and adjust, but hopefully we can see him on the pitch in not too long. He’s definitely done well in training.”
Would he be involved in the U23s first of all or could he go straight into the first team?
“That’s the decision we have to make with the bubbles and all this, they need competitive games and at the moment we don’t have any. He will be training [with us] and let’s see when he’ll get his first game-time – if it’s from the bench with us or with the 23s, likely to be the 23s of course.”
Tim Fosu-Mensah left the club this week. Could there be any more departures this month, even possibly on loan for those who might need some minutes?
“You can’t really say no because in football things just crop up. There are opportunities that we can’t really say no to and if it’s the best for the club and the player then its something we look at.”
“At the moment I can’t update you on any of them, I don’t really know where any negotiations are [up to]. We wish Tim all the best – six-and-a-half years I think he was here.”
“He’s an exciting talent and he’s got the attributes, but he needs to play. When he gets regular game-time I think we’ll see him for Holland and we’ll see how good a player he is.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, where’s your biggest selection headache as manager?“There are loads of headaches but they’re good headaches because at the moment we are playing well and we’ve got good players who are knocking on the door wanting to play more. I’ll give everyone a chance to prove their fitness and hopefully we can be at full strength. At the moment, it’s only Brandon [Williams] and Phil [Jones] that are definitely out. There are a couple that are doubts, but we’ll see on Sunday who’s fit.”
It’s almost a calendar year since we were last beaten away from home, on our last visit to Anfield. What sort of impact on confidence does that have and are the players going into every game away from home thinking why can’t we win this?
“The boys have to be confident going into the games when you get results and performances like we’ve had. It’s human nature. Confidence is not just something you can give them, they work to get that confidence. Then going away to Anfield, playing against the champions who haven’t lost there for three-and-a-half years, that’s a different challenge.”
“That’s not one that you just turn up to and win because we’re confident. There is much more than that which has to go into the game and preparation.”
“It’s about the mindset and how you prepare your head for every single little moment because we know in these games that small moments can decide them.”
“We saw that in the Carabao Cup [against Manchester City] when we conceded from set plays and last time we lost to Liverpool they had a corner and scored and we had a corner in the last minute and they counter-attacked and scored.”
“So there are fine margins and small differences… maybe a decision that’s wrong or right that can change the whole course of a game or a season.”
It’s a remarkable turnaround in points since that last game at Anfield…
“Yes and that’s the product of all the hard work that everyone in the club – the staff, the players, the supporters, everyone has done. There’s been loads of hard work and loads of patience to get to the position we’re in now.”
“But it’s like if you climb Kilimanjaro or Mount Everest and you get to the top and you sit down and relax – what happens then? You’ll freeze to death. So now is the time to push on and go again.”
“There is a definite shift in mentality of the boys that we can believe we can go on to bigger and better things.”
Did you enjoy this game as a player or was it a stressful experience?
“I loved it. I loved playing in big games, I didn’t play many of them because loads of times I was on the bench coming on. I played when Diego [Forlan] scored a couple [at Anfield] and I absolutely loved the intensity of it and celebrating in front of our fans.”
“I was on the bench when Pally [Gary Pallister] scored a couple of headers too. When there are fans there and you can quieten them down and the away fans are singing louder than the home fans then that’s a great feeling. Now we don’t have any home fans to quieten down, so it’s a different mindset going into the game.”
The fans do have an impact going into this game – will this therefore be the strangest of all the fixtures we’ve had over the last nine months or so that has no crowd?
“I think the results over the last year or nine or 10 months or so have shown how important the fans are.”
“The win-rate away from home compared to home, shows that the fans do play a big part in football and the passion that they give.”
“I cannot wait to get everyone back, but in the meantime we’ll do whatever we can to please everyone who is at home.”
FORM:
Liverpool Premier League form: DWWDDL
Liverpool form (all competitions): WWDDLW
Manchester United Premier League form: WWDWWW
Manchester United form (all competitions): DWWLWW
LINEUPS:
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson; Henderson, Thiago, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Rashford, Fernandes, Pogba; Martial
SPORTSMOLE PREDICTION:
Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
This is one of the most finely-poised meetings between these two great rivals in recent memory.
Liverpool, the dominant force in English football over the last year or so but suffering a slight blip now, take on a league-leading Manchester United side showing the first signs of restoring their former glories – it could hardly be set up better.
It is a match which could realistically go either way, but Liverpool’s remarkable home record gives them the slight edge as far as we are concerned. Indeed, a showdown with their fiercest enemies, who have just knocked them off the top of the table, could be the perfect fixture to snap Klopp’s side out of their recent malaise.
Either way, it promises to be an unmissable contest. These big games can often flatter to deceive, but Sunday’s showdown looks unlikely to be one of those occasions.
Time to take a look at our Liverpool vs Manchester United live match stream as it happens…
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