Liverpool -v- Manchester United
Premier League
Anfield, Liverpool
Tuesday 19 April 2022, KO 20:00 GMT
Referee: Martin Atkinson – Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Richard West
Fourth Official: Chris Kavanagh
VAR: Paul Tierney – Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard
Manchester United travel to face Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Tuesday evening in a match that Ralf Rangnick’s team will need to win, which will give rivals Manchester City the advantage in the title race this season, or hand it to Liverpool – neither is a good situation.
United beat Norwich City 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick, his second of the season. United were 2-0 up but Norwich got a goal back at the end of the first half, equalising in the second which resulted in United pushing for a winner and getting it.
Liverpool face City in the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday, winning 3-2 and earning a place in the final this season, where they will face Chelsea. It ended City’s treble dreams with the Premier League and UEFA Champions League still an option for them – Liverpool could win the quadruple.
United found themselves up to fifth in the Premier League this season after both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal lost with West Ham United drawing against Burnley on Sunday. United have been given yet more chances to break into the top four. Beating Liverpool will help that continue to be an option.
Manchester United – Recent Form, Goals Scored and Assists: WLDLWL
Norwich City 3-2 W, Everton 1-0 L, Leicester City 1-1 D, Atletico Madrid 1-0 L, Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 W, Manchester City 4-1 L
Goals: 21 – Cristiano Ronaldo, 9 – Bruno Fernandes, 6 – Mason Greenwood, 5 – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, 4 – Fred, 3 – Anthony Elanga, 2 – Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, 1 – Own Goal, Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba, Alex Telles, Donny van de Beek
Assists: 14 – Bruno Fernandes, 9 – Paul Pogba, 5 – Fred, Luke Shaw, 3 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Alex Telles, 2 – Mason Greenwood, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Marcus Rashford, 1 – Edinson Cavani, Anthony Elanga, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane
Liverpool – Recent Form, Goals Scored and Assists: WDDWWW
Manchester City 3-2 W, Benfica 3-3 D, Manchester City 2-2 D, Benfica 3-1 W, Watford 2-0 W, Nottingham Forest 1-0 W
Goals: 28 – Mohamed Salah, 21 – Diogo Jota, 18 – Sadio Mané, 11 – Roberto Firmino, 9 – Takumi Minamino, 7 – Fabinho, 5 – Divock Origi, 3 – Luis Díaz, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keïta, Ibrahima Konaté, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Virgil van Dijk, 2 – Thiago Alcántara, Trent Alexander-Arnold, 1 – Harvey Elliott, Kaide Gordon, Curtis Jones, Joel Matip, Andrew Robertson
Assists: 17 – Trent Alexander-Arnold, 15 – Andrew Robertson, 11 – Mohamed Salah, 6 – Jordan Henderson, Konstantinos Tsimikas, 4 – Roberto Firmino, 3 – Thiago Alcántara, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, James Milner, Divock Origi, 2 – Joel Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Neco Williams, 1 – Alisson, Conor Bradley, Luis Díaz, Fabinho, Joseph Gomez, Naby Keïta, Ibrahima Konaté, Sadio Mané, Takumi Minamino, Virgil van Dijk
Previous meetings with Liverpool and their connections with United.
United and Liverpool have met 59 times in the Premier League. United have won 28 times, drawn 14 times with Liverpool winning 17 times. United have scored 79 goals, winning five penalties, scoring three. Liverpool have scored 72 goals, winning seven penalties, scoring five.
United have kept 18 clean sheets with Liverpool keeping 16. Discipline has been an issue with United players receiving 113 yellow cards and 10 red cards and Liverpool players being shown 90 yellow cards and seven red cards. This would be a great match for United to win.
Tom Chorlton, Jackie Sheldon, Tom Miller, Fred Hopkin, Tommy Reid, Ted Savage, Allenby Chilton, Thomas McNulty, Phil Chisnal and Peter Beardsley all played for Liverpool and United before the Premier League was formed. Michael Owen and Paul Ince have also played for both clubs.
Owen won his only Premier League title playing for United, making 52 appearances, scoring 17 goals and three assists for the club. Ince made a total of 207 appearances for United, scoring 22 goals and 16 assists. Neither of the pair are considered legends for United, and rightly so.
Team News: Cavani, Fred, McTominay and Shaw still out of action. Varane could recover for this match or the Arsenal one. Liverpool have no injuries at this time.
Manchester United: Edinson Cavani (Calf), Fred (Hip), Scott McTominay (Foot) and Luke Shaw (Leg) have all been ruled out for the foreseeable future. Raphaël Varane (Other) is a doubt at this time but could recover for this match or the Arsenal match. United will have make do with what they have.
Liverpool: Klopp’s side have no injuries at present, which is a good position to be in with Liverpool chasing a quadruple having already won the Carabao Cup this season and still contesting the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the Emirates FA Cup.
Predicted Starting XI: Ronaldo, Sancho, Elanga, Ferandes and Lingard to propel United against Liverpool? Jones and Maguire in the centre of defence; Dalot and Telles at fullback?
Rangnick got his game plan right against Norwich on Saturday afternoon. With Cristiano Ronaldo putting United 2-0 up in the first half, it looked like it was going to be a good match for United but Norwich’s goal at the end of the half, then the equaliser ended that.
United then had to work hard to get the result when came in the 76th minute as Ronaldo completed his second hat-trick for the club this season. The substitutes seemed to balance United out which got the job done but Norwich were tough to beat and Liverpool will be much tougher.
David De Gea should keep his place. It is hard to see Dean Henderson getting a chance now. Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles should keep their places in the fullback positions with Phil Jones and Harry Maguire partnering in the centre of defence, if Raphael Varane is not fit enough to start.
In the midfield, a three of Nemanja Matić, Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard could be good for United, especially if Lingard plays like he did in the first half against Norwich. An attacking trio of Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Elanga could work well for United.
Match Prediction: United have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League in their last seven matches, last winning back in 2018. It is time for United to stand up – but will they?
United have not beaten Liverpool in the Premier League in their last seven matches, last winning on the 10 March 2018 at Old Trafford in a 2-1 victory. The only other victory over Liverpool came in the Emirates FA Cup on the 24 January 2021, a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford.
In the last seven Premier League matches, United have lost four times and drawn three times, scoring four goals and conceding 15 goals. It is not a great position for United to be in at this stage of the season, especially when they face Arsenal and Chelsea after that.
Last season, United drew 0-0 at Anfield, which would be a good result this season, losing 4-2 at Old Trafford. Earlier this season, United were humiliated 5-0 at Old Trafford and will need to find something special if they are to get a good result in this match.
United’s 3-2 victory over Norwich City on Saturday will create some belief but Liverpool are a completely different team and will find United’s weaknesses, just like they did earlier in the season. Liverpool have so many players who are streets ahead of United.
Liverpool 3-2 Manchester United
Written by John Walker
