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Old Trafford
Saturday 11th February 2012.
Just a fortnight after meeting in the FA Cup at Anfield, Manchester United and Liverpool will lock horns in a vital league clash on Saturday, this time at Old Trafford.
And the FA could be forgiven for not exactly rejoicing at the prospect.
All eyes will of course be upon Luis Suarez who will line up against Patrice Evra for the first time since his racist abuse of United’s French international defender earned him an eight-match ban and Liverpool’s lack of contrition in response to that ban earned them widespread condemnation.
The pre-match handshakes will be very closely observed, should they indeed take place and there is a real danger that the fact that this is a massively important game for both clubs in the context of their respective seasons could be lost among the ongoing acrimony.
Now two points behind leaders Manchester City in the wake of their dramatic 3-3 draw at Chelsea, United will be desperate to keep the pressure on their noisy neighbours by securing the win, while Liverpool cannot afford to lose any more ground on fourth-placed Chelsea if they are to maintain their hopes of securing a return to Champions League football next season.
United will of course start as strong favourites despite losing in the recent Cup clash and could be boosted by the return of midfielder Tom Cleverley who may well be named on the bench.
Chris Smalling is also in with a shout of making the matchday squad and David De Gea should retain the gloves after making several fine saves against Chelsea.
United’s home form has been much better this season, they currently boast nine wins from twelve league games at Old Trafford and they have enjoyed the better of this fixture in recent years, losing just once to the Reds on home soil since 2004.
Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to frustrate their supporters with their lack of consistency and inability to win at home.
Kenny Dalglish’s men remain unbeaten at Anfield this term, but eight of their twelve home games have ended in draws, with the likes of Norwich, Swansea, Blackburn and Stoke all leaving Merseyside with a point.
If they had managed to turn even four of those draws into wins, they would now be four points ahead of Chelsea in fourth place instead of trailing the West London side by four points.
Speculation continues to swirl around the future of record-signing Andy Carroll who has managed just three league goals all season and the big Geordie’s confidence levels can hardly have been boosted by last week’s story that Liverpool were keen to off-load him to Manchester City in exchange for Carlos Tevez.
Carroll could still retain his spot against a United side not renowned for their aerial strength at the back and that is likely to mean Dirk Kuyt dropping to the bench to make way for Luis Suarez despite the fact that he has found the net twice in the last three games.
Jordan Henderson and Jamie Carragher will both be keen to earn promotions from the bench and it will be interesting to see if Dalglish employs a more defensive approach in a bid to soak up United’s pressure and then hit them on the break through the pace of Craig Bellamy, a tactic which paid handsome dividends when the Reds stunned the Red Devils with a 4-1 win at Old Trafford in 2009.
Neutrals will be hoping for more entertainment than we saw in the Cup clash, but with a total circus going on all around it, the game may again disappoint.
United to edge it.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool
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