Premier League Manchester United vs Liverpool Preview

Match Details

Date: 14 May 2021

Time: 12:45 AM (IST)

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Preview:

It's time for the fans to witness one of the biggest rivalries in English football as Manchester United welcome Liverpool at Old Trafford on Thursday night. The big match was scheduled to take place a few days back but had to be postponed due to the protest of Red Devils' fans against their owners.

The rescheduled date puts Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in a bit of bother as they will have only about 50 hours to recover from Leicester City's 2-1 loss. However, with so many youngsters featuring in the previous contest, it is expected that Man Utd will be able to start their strongest playing XI in this mega contest. A win for the hosts would almost guarantee a second-spot finish for them which would be a great result considering the situation of the club at the start of the season.

On the other hand, the stakes will be much higher for Liverpool who desperately need a victory to have an outside chance of finishing in top four. They would need a lot of other results to go in their favour as well but the only thing they can do is to win all their remaining matches and end this disastrous season on a positive note. They are coming to this contest on the back of a hard-fought 2-0 win over Southampton with Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara finally on the score-sheet.

While these two sides don't need too much motivation when they are up against each other, it is undoubtedly going to be a fierce battle between two top sides, led by two charismatic managers - Ole Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp.

Team News

Manchester United:

The hosts will be without Phil Jones, Daniel James, Anthony Martial who have been out of action for a while due to their injuries. The trio of Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, who made a substitute appearance in the previous match, are expected to start this contest. Man Utd will also be without their captain Harry Maguire who is suffering from an ankle ligament injury.

Liverpool:

The visitors will be without their star defenders Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, in addition to striker Divock Origi, with all of them sidelined due to injuries. While Jordan Henderson has started training, it is very unlikely that he will feature in the starting XI.

Head-to-Head

When the two sides met last in Premier League, it was a 0-0 draw with nothing to separate the two sides. The overall head-to-head record in the domestic league history is as follows:

Matches: 175

Man Utd: 68

Liverpool: 57

Draws: 50

Key Players

With both the sides expected to play their strongest playing XI, it is certainly going to be a star-studded contest. All eyes will be on the leading goal-scorers (2020-21 season) for Manchester United and Liverpool.

Bruno Fernandes:

The Portuguese midfielder has had a huge impact on Manchester United's brilliant season so far. With 17 goals and 11 assists to his name, Bruno will hope to add a few more to his impressive tally in this big contest against Liverpool.

Mohamed Salah:

The Egyptian star has been the lone warrior in Liverpool's attack this season with Mane and Firmino not in the best of form. In the 34 matches, Salah has 20 goals and 4 assists to his name. The 28-year-old is also in fight with Harry Kane to win the prestigious Golden Boot award for this season.

Probable Starting XI

Manchester United:

Dean Henderson, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood