Manchester United vs Liverpool Preview

Liverpool and Manchester United will renew their rivalry this Sunday when both sides meet at Old Trafford in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Manchester United qualified for this stage of the FA Cup by beating lower oppositions Wigan, Newport, and Nottingham Forest in the previous rounds so Liverpool will be their biggest opponents in this tournament so far and they will have to prove they deserve to play their second FA Cup final in two years by overcoming Jürgen Klopp’s side.

This is the first time in over 12 years both sides meet in the FA quarter-final and the Red Devils will see this tie as their opportunity to salvage their poor season and continue on the path to winning silverware. Additionally, this clash could prove crucial for Erik ten Hag whose job may well depend on the outcome of his side’s two remaining meetings with Liverpool this term.

That’s unlikely to reassure him given that United have failed to score in four of the last five H2Hs (W1, D1, L3). His first victory in the Old Trafford dugout did come against this opposition though and home advantage certainly could work in the Red Devils’ favour here as they’re unbeaten inside 90 minutes on their turf in this competition since March 2015 while the last time Liverpool beat them here in the FA Cup was January 1921 (W5, D1).

But the visitors are a team in form and could embarrass United again after they scored six in their last game against Sparta Praha in the Europa League. The Reds are firing on all cylinders and are still in the hunt for three more trophies, with the League Cup already secure.

Confidence must be sky-high in the Liverpool camp after just one loss from their last 21 competitive matches (W16, D4). They have already beaten Arsenal in this season’s FA Cup too and as they’ve won each of their last six FA Cup quarter-finals, one would be brave to go against them at present.

Although they suffered defeat on this ground last season, Liverpool have been dominant in this fixture. They have lost to United just three times since January 2016 (W7, D8) but, they cannot be too confident as all those losses came at Old Trafford, including a behind-closed-doors 3-2 reverse in the FA Cup in January 2021.