Manchester United and Liverpool meet at Old Trafford on Sunday with Jurgen Klopp’s side out to strengthen their Premier League title bid once again – and further demean their arch-rivals.
15 points separate the two sides with United’s malaise reaching a critical point before the international break with defeat to Newcastle.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be without the services of both David de Gea and Paul Pogba who are sidelined through injury. Jurgen Klopp’s jubilant bunch meanwhile are looking to make it 18 wins on the bounce – an English top flight record they are eager to equal.
What better place to do it than Old Trafford? Standard Sport consider where Sunday’s match will be won and lost.
No more early goals for United
Scoring goals is a problem full stop for United at the minute and the bright starts they enjoyed towards the start of the season have grown into a distant memory.
United score before the 30-minute mark in four of their first five games of the season – failing to do so since Marcus Rashford opened the scoring from the penalty spot after eight minutes on 14 September.
But with just five goals in the seven league games since the start of the season and one in their last three, you fancy they would take one anytime on Sunday.
Liverpool lethal before the break
Liverpool’s defence has been breached in the first-half just once in the league this season – when Newcastle’s Jetro Willems found a way through in September.
And it is in the 15 minutes before half-time where the Reds have been statistically at their most dangerous – failing to score in this period of the match in just one of their eight league games. Their total in that period of the match alone (eight) is just one shy of United’s total for the season (nine).
Opportunity late on against the Reds
If United are to find a way to breach the Liverpool defence, form suggests it will come after the hour mark. Liverpool have conceded in the final 30 minutes in five of their last six games in all competitions and in the league, it is where they have shipped all but one of their six conceded goals.
Taking advantage of that will require an improvement on United’s part, however.
United even worse in the second-half
United haven’t recovered well to falling behind all season, conceding second-half goals in their last three matches, going onto lose two of those games.
While the return of Anthony Martial offers promise, United have been wretched in their attempts to pursue or seek out a win late on in games. Their goal threat in the second period of matches has been non-existent as of late - been so bad that they have not registered a second-half goal since August.
If Liverpool take the lead – your fear for the home side.
