The Reds can make United cold at Anfield

Liverpool vs Manchester United prediction: The Reds can make United cold at Anfield

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have been different at home, winning eight and losing just one of their 12 games

There will be more than public pride at stake when Liverpool host Manchester United in the 180th league meeting between the North West rivals at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Jurgen Klopp’s side need to push the table in pursuit of a top four finish and build some momentum ahead of a seemingly impossible quest to overturn a three-goal deficit to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium later this month.

United must not forget their push forward as Erik ten Hag’s side chased silverware across four competitions, although a title challenge seems far away at the moment.

The Red Devils can complete a rare Premier League double over their hosts if they win, but Anfield has not been a happy hunting ground for them since the start of Klopp’s reign.

Team news
Thiago Alcantara (hip), Luis Diaz (knee) and Calvin Ramsay (knee) remain out, while the Reds need to call on Naby Keita after he missed the midweek win over Wolves through injury.

Diogo Jota impressed on Wednesday against his former club but it is perhaps unrealistic to expect him to make his third start in a week after so long on the injury list.

Therefore, Cody Gakpo is expected to return to the starting XI with Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah up front, while Andrew Robertson and Jordan Henderson are likely to return to replace Kostas Tsimikas and Harvey Elliott.

For United, Christian Eriksen (ankle) and Donny van de Beek (knee) are still out, but Luke Shaw and Jadon Sancho are expected to return to contention after missing Wednesday’s win over West Ham.

Ten Hag revealed that Shaw picked up a minor injury at Wembley and Sancho has been suffering from illness.

The Dutchman named his second line-up against the Hammers, making six changes to Sunday’s Carabao Cup winner with the likes of Casemiro, Fred, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford starting on the bench.

The quartet, plus Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, look set to return to the squad after a tough run at Anfield and there is little chance Anthony Martial will be available off the bench following a hip injury.

Statistics

Erik ten Hag’s men trailed in four of their last seven matches but finished strongly
Liverpool kept a fourth successive clean sheet in the Premier League on Wednesday against Wolves – the first time they have done so this season.

Salah needs one more goal to equal Robbie Fowler’s club record of 128 goals for the Reds.

The Egyptian is already Liverpool’s all-time leading goalscorer against United in all competitions with 10 goals.

Nine of those attempts came in his last five appearances in the match.

Meanwhile, since the start of the 2017-18 season, no player has scored more goals against Liverpool than Rashford (six), although not at Anfield.

United have now won 30 in all competitions this season from 41 matches. Only in the 2006-07 and 2012-13 seasons did the Old Trafford club achieve 30 wins in fewer matches (40 both times).

But the slow start continues to be a problem for Ten Hag’s side as they have now trailed in four of their last seven matches, including three of the last four at home.

Forecast
Liverpool reaffirmed their claim to a top-four finish with a solid display at home to Wolves on Wednesday for their eighth home win in the Premier League this season.

Klopp’s side are looking far more like their former selves on a familiar pitch and will earn plenty of respect from a United team who haven’t been as convincing on the road as they did at Old Trafford.

Liverpool have excelled at the break in four of their last seven home league games and will need to bounce back against their fierce North West rivals.

Taking the 25/1 on offer with LiveScore Betting may be beneficial for United to pull off an electrifying second half comeback in the Half Time/Full Time markets.

The Carabao Cup winners were strong in closing and currently boast the Premier League’s best goal return in the last quarter of an hour of play, while Liverpool’s most prolific 15-minute spell usually came just before half-time.