Liverpool vs Manchester United Preview

Liverpool and Manchester United will face off in the Premier League era for the 63rd time this weekend when they meet at Anfield for the 17th Round of the 2023/24 PL season.

The Reds come into this tie looking to keep their lead at the top of the league table having shot themselves to top spot thanks to a 2-1 away win over Crystal Palace last weekend. That win came despite Liverpool conceding the first goal of the game–a phenomenon that has already occurred nine times this season.

But the Reds, helped by a red card to Andre Ayew, were still able to win the game courtesy of late goals from Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliot. Their target will now be to continue their remarkable winning run at Anfield, where they have won all their home games this season while scoring 21 times. Their home form isn’t just recent, too, as they have lost just once in their last 49 home games (W38, D10).

And although the form guide is usually thrown out the window whenever their rivalry with bitter enemies Manchester United is renewed, this has been a pretty one-sided affair lately, with Liverpool going unbeaten in the last eight home H2Hs (W5, D3) while conceding only once in that time – a run that includes last seasons’ famous 7-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing exit from the Champions League when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday. The Red Devils take on their fierce rivals off the back of two disappointing defeats to Bournemouth (3-0) and Bayern Munich (1-0), which seen them finish bottom of their UCL group, knocking them out of Europe.

That recent loss to Bayern means that Erik ten Hag’s side have lost as many matches this campaign (12) as they did in the whole of last season. The pressure has been mounting on the Dutch manager, with rumours circulating that Graham Potter is in line for his job should INEOS’ impending bid for a 25% stake in the club come to fruition.

The Dutchman’s life isn’t made easier with an array of injuries hampering his squad, further exacerbated by the suspension of Bruno Fernandes, leaving as many as 13 first-team players unavailable for the trip to Anfield.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Premier League Fixtures:

Premier League Table