Manchester Utd – Liverpool SOCCER PICKS
It is the duel of the two arch rivals, the two most successful teams in the country. Record champions Manchester United (fourth, 51 points) expected Liverpool (Table 2, 65 points). In England, there is no comparable rivalry between two clubs from two different cities. The rivalry between the two clubs arose out of the aversion of the two cities, which originated during the Industrial Revolution. When Manchester decided to build its own canal to save taxes and fees, the city was no longer dependent on the port of Liverpool, which led to unemployment there. A few months after the new waterway opened, Newton Heath (the Man United predecessor) met Liverpool in a relegation match. United got off and the football rivalry was born.
In the meantime, Man United took 20 more league titles than the Reds. For Liverpool twice could win the Champions League or the National Champion Cup more often. Between the cities and the clubs, the hatred of the other side is palpable, even though there are hardly any local players left at both clubs. On Sunday afternoon (live on Sky Sports and Dazn) Manchester United receives the Reds for the first time since October 1996 as second in the table. At that time the Red Devils won 1-0 thanks to a goal from David Beckham.
Manchester United:
Manchester United celebrated their place in the quarter-finals last Monday in the top match of the previous FA Cup season at Chelsea. Another great success for coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has so far lost only the round of 16 in the Champions League against Paris Saint Germain (11-1-1). In the Premier League, no other team currently has a long run of unbeaten games compared to the Red Devils (eight wins, one draw). Last time, the Red Devils completed a longer series in October 2017 (ten games). Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has scored 25 points in his nine Premier League games as United coach. A win or a draw against archrival and Solskjaer would have set a new record. So far Guus Hiddink has scored the most points as a Chelsea coach in his first ten Premier League games (25). Solskjaer is the 20th Man United coach to face Liverpool in the league. Nine of its 19 predecessors won the first game against Liverpool. The last one was Louis van Gaal in December 2014.
Manchester United played only once in zero in this Premier League season in twelve home games. Only Fulham comes to just as few zero games. Nevertheless, the current form is in favor of the Red Devils, which is why we would place a tip on home win United at Manchester United against Liverpool. For Manchester United against Liverpool odds of up to 3.15 (Unibet) wait. Manchester United keeper David De Gea has played zero in the Premier League so far 99 times. With another “clean sheet” the Spaniard would be the 15th keeper, who would have done this 100 times in the Premier League and only the seventh, who would make it with a club. Paul Pogba was against Chelsea “Man of the Match”. In his last nine Premier League games he has met eight times and prepared another five goals directly. Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial could be in the squad after surviving injury.
Liverpool:
The first leg in the knockout stages of the Champions League during the week confirmed once again the impression that Liverpool lacked the necessary killer instinct in the all-important games. Against Bayern achieved the Reds only for the second time this season, no goal at the home Anfield. Of the past eight competitive matches, only three have been won and Liverpool have only played draws in three out of the last four games (in all competitions). Too little in the Champions League and presumably too little in the title race, because Manchester City has won 13 of the last 14 games for themselves. At Manchester United, Liverpool is still favorite for a win, according to odds bookmakers. But at Old Trafford another nervous game is waiting for the Reds. As for the players’ psyche, West Ham and Leicester drew at home when Liverpool failed to take advantage of Man City’s defeat at Newcastle. United will not be the only serious game in the coming weeks. There is also the Merseyside Derby against Everton and the duel with the Tottenham Hotspur. Even Chelsea could turn out to be a tough nut to crack, if by then a sensible coach has taken over.
However, Liverpool scored as only one of three teams (also Tottenham and Man United) in any away game this season. Liverpool lost just one of the past 13 Premier League away matches (9-3-1). However, Liverpool have been in the top 4 against teams that were placed on matchday seven for seven away matches. Last time Liverpool could win such a match in September 2016 2-1 at Chelsea. Sadio Mane and Xherdan Shaqiri both met Manchester United in the first leg. Last time in a season both home and away against Man United could meet Fernando Torres in the 2009/10 season. Mohamed Salah has scored 49 Premier League goals for Liverpool so far. Should he face the Red Devils, he would have reached the 50-goal milestone in just 63 games. No other player has reached this mark faster for a club. However, Man United is the only side Salah has failed to score or match in three games. In addition, exactly the offensive was the last drag of the Reds. Salah only scores four goals in his eight youngest matches, Roberto Firmino scored only once in seven games. Only Sadio Mane has had a good run (scored in each of the recent four league games), but scored only twice before in 14 games.
