Super Sunday is centred around one Premier League fixture in Week 9, when Manchester United welcome leaders Liverpool to Old Trafford in a match that could go any number of ways.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s hosts are 12th in the league and desperate for form after failing to win their last three, but the visit of their most bitter rivals and the current form team in England could be the fire needed to ignite their revival.
Manchester United vs. Liverpool
When: Sunday, October 20
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
There’s really no better team against whom United would like to begin their turnaround than Liverpool, the defending kings of Europe and leaders of Premier League by a massive eight-point margin.
Few might expect a Red Devils team so short on goals of late to be the ones who would hand Liverpool their first domestic defeat this season. Jurgen Klopp’s side have won eight from eight in the league this term, while United are searching for their first regular-time win since September 19.
There were suspicions Solskjaer would be sacked during the international break, with pressure increasing as a result of their humiliating 1-0 loss at Newcastle United in Week 8. The Norwegian spoke to MUTV after possibly their worst result this season and rued their lack of creativity:
“We’re disappointed, of course we are. We do lack quite a few key players but that’s no excuse. The players worked hard, they ran their socks off but at the moment we’re in a position we’re not used to. The boys, some of them, lack that little bit of composure and confidence in the last bit and you can tell. We don’t create enough chances to win a game of football.”
Sunday’s hosts have failed to score in more than 180 minutes, not to mention now going 10 matches on the trot netting once or fewer. The 4-0 win over Chelsea on the first day of the season remains their only instance finishing more than once in a game this term.
Contrast that record against Klopp’s Liverpool, whose only failure to score was in the 2-0 Champions League loss at Napoli (also their only failure to win). The Merseysiders have scored in five straight matches since, though they’ve failed to keep clean sheets in their last two outings against Red Bull Salzburg (4-3) and Leicester City (2-1).
Solskjaer’s United are in a tailspin, but his players must view the visit of Liverpool as a chance to end their rough patch against big opposition, rather than the latest leg of an ongoing downturn.
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