Manchester United take on Liverpool this evening looking for their first win at Anfield since 2016.
The two teams could not have had more contrasting seasons to date with Liverpool flying high in the league and Champions League and United on course for their worst season in decades.
On paper the match looks a foregone conclusion but luckily the game isn’t played on paper.
The most obvious thing United must do is, do everything in their power to stop Mohammed Salah. The 32 year old has been simply sensational this season, scoring 20 goals already.
If United are to get anything from this game they will have to find a way to keep the Egyptian quiet in a fashion they rarely have over the years as he has scored 15 goals versus the Red Devils in total.
It won’t only be service to the forward United will need to cut out but also they will need to snuff out his own passing and crossing, as he has 17 assists in all competitions too.
United have to also do their best not to give up too many transition opportunities.
By the mid-November break, “Liverpool had scored nine open-play goals within 15 seconds of regaining possession. In the game at Manchester United, in particular, they demonstrated a defensive compactness around the halfway line that left them ready to pounce forward. Salah and Díaz were outstanding in 1v1 moments in this game, especially with space and momentum to use.”
This devastating rapid attacking has only continued since then and United will be very vulnerable unless they can keep the ball much better than they did last time they played their great rivals.
United must also match the energy of Liverpool’s midfield of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. This is something Casemiro and Christian Eriksen spectacularly failed to do versus Newcastle and they can ill afford to do the same at Anfield.
Manuel Ugarte will play a key role in matching the energy of the Anfield side and most likely will need Kobbie Mainoo to be at his best alongside him in the middle of the park.
The Uruguay international has been one of the few players who actually looks up to speed with Ruben Amorim’s style of play and was impressive in the December victory at the Etihad against Manchester City. He will be even more vital today.
For so long under Jurgen Klopp Liverpool’s midfield was an area of weakness to exploit but these days under Arnie Slot, United must be at their best to contain a major strength of their North-Western rivals.
Finally, manager Ruben Amorim has insisted that he will continue to play his 3-4-3 formation but he may need to make some adjustments, especially in a tie of this magnitude.
A return to playing Amad as a wingback may help as United are yet to score a goal with Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot playing as the wingbacks and it is not as if the Red Devils can rely on a water-tight defence to see out the game.
Perhaps the only way United can get something from the game is fighting fire with fire, by using Amad in the position he excelled in during Amorim’s first few games in charge.
Featured Image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
