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Liverpool vs Manchester United – Match Preview

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is nearing a return after a hamstring injury but will not be fit to play against Manchester United on Sunday.

None of the other players on a lengthy injury list are close to fitness, with Daniel Sturridge still sidelined.

Manchester United will be without Bastian Schweinsteiger with a knee problem, while fellow midfielder Michael Carrick is also injured.

Defender Phil Jones is expected to return soon following his ankle injury.

Editor’s Note: This clash is always a titanic one but 9th versus 6th doesn’t quite have the same ring as the Ferguson vs Benitez clashes a few years back when the matches were almost title defining but there certainly will be no love lost at Jurgen Klopp has his first encounter versus Manchester United at the helm of their local rivals Liverpool.

Liverpool came from behind to snatch a point at home to Arsenal on Wednesday in what was arguably one of the games of the season so far. They started quick out off the blocks and will be looking for more of the same this Afternoon as they look for all 3 points and the hope of getting back in among the European places and primarily back in the hunt of the Top 4.

The Merseyside club still have a long injury list and won’t be able to welcome anyone of those casualties back into the side Today but the spotlight will certainly be on their Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, at fault for two of the goals in Wednesday draw he will need a performance today to silence the critics. He’ll keep his place in goal simply because the backup options aren’t good enough to replace him (A certain Adam Bogdan springs to mind)

They play host to a Manchester United side who were also in a dramatic 3-3 draw in Midweek but they gave away two points on Tuesday, so the result was less favourable for them against Newcastle and in a game where they had  plenty of chances to wrap up the game the late goal from Paul Dummett almost felt like a loss.

It’s only 1 win in 6 league matches for Manchester United, a win would go someway to easing the constant pressure on Louis Van Gaal but defeat here and the vultures will no doubt be circling again come 4pm. One plus point for United is that Wayne Rooney looked back to his best on Tuesday, will he be able to take advantage of Liverpool’s Defensive issues?

A win for United and they can go back up to 5th and only two points off of Tottenham but defeat would mean a 5 point gap and if results were to go against them at The Britannia they could even slip to 7th, would that be enough for Van Gaal to be shown the exit door. One for sure is that the United fans won’t stand for that.

I have a feeling that Van Gaal will be too afraid to lose this but this run isn’t good enough for them to be challenging for The Top 4. For Liverpool much will depend on whether Roberto Firmino can replicate his scintillating from Wednesday when he scored twice. I have a feeling this one might be a draw which ultimately does no favours for either teams Champions League hopes. A score draw for me.

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