Liverpool vs Manchester United Prediction: Salah to steal the show at Anfield

One of the standout fixtures in the English football calendar takes place this Sunday afternoon (16:30, Sky Sports Main Event) as Liverpool and Manchester United lock horns at Anfield. There is little to separate these two north-west powerhouses in terms of trophies in the cabinet but, at the halfway stage of the 2024/25 Premier League season, there are 23 points between them - and league leaders Liverpool still have a game in hand on 18 other teams, including the Red Devils.

Read on for my Liverpool vs Manchester United prediction, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this grudge game in L4.

Team News

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has been boosted by the return to training of defensive duo Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley who have both missed their side's last eight matches following injuries picked up in the 2-0 victory over Real Madrid on November 27.

The return to fitness of Konate, in particular, is timely following the injury sustained by Joe Gomez in last Sunday's 5-0 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium. Gomez is ruled out for the entirety of January, at least, and thus Slot will be forced into making a change in the middle of defence this weekend.

Jarell Quansah could be called upon to partner Virgil van Dijk if Konate isn't passed fit to start, while Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo is another option at centre-back following his impressive performance in the position against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last month.

Gomez aside, Slot appears to have a fully fit squad to choose from, and Dominik Szoboszlai is back from suspension to rival Curtis Jones for a starting spot in midfield.

Kostas Tsimikas could also come in for Andy Robertson at left-back, while Diogo Jota is pushing for a recall to the starting XI after his goalscoring substitute appearance against the Irons.

Football Odds

Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes are back available for Manchester United after serving suspensions in the Red Devils' 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at Old Trafford last Monday. Both players are expected to be restored to Ruben Amorim's starting XI with Christian Eriksen and Casemiro set to drop out of midfield.

Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount have been out of action due to injury and are expected to miss out on Sunday's trip to Anfield, while Marcus Rashford, left out of four consecutive squads before being an unused substitute against the Magpies last time out, is "ill" according to Amorim and is likely to be sidelined this weekend.

Liverpool vs Manchester United Odds

Manchester United haven't beaten Liverpool in a competitive fixture since August 2022, or at Anfield since January 2016. That head-to-head record, coupled with their dismal run of form which has seen them fall to four straight defeats, the last three of which have been in the Premier League and they have failed to score in, makes them unsurprising outsiders to take the three points on Sunday. Odds of 9/1 give the Red Devils a 10% chance of success while Liverpool are 2/7 (77.8%) to chalk up a fourth consecutive victory in the Premier League, and fifth in all competitions.

The draw, which has landed in two of the last four meetings between the teams at Anfield, is priced at 5/1, and over 2.5 total goals is available at 2/5.

Player to Score Two or More Goals - Mohamed Salah (LIV) @ 100/30

Mohamed Salah endured difficulties against Man United earlier in his career, failing to score in his first four appearances against the Red Devils, but after breaking his barren run with a late breakaway effort in a 2-0 victory at Anfield in Liverpool's 2019/20 title-winning season, the 'Egyptian King' has never looked back.

Salah has scored 15 goals in his last 12 outings against Liverpool's bitter rivals, only failing to net in two games - both goalless draws, one in 2020/21 and the other last season. He was on target in the reverse fixture this term, sealing the points with his side's third and final goal of the match in a 3-0 win at Old Trafford having set up both of Luis Diaz's goals in the first half.

The 32-year-old has struck 17 times and registered 13 assists in 18 Premier League appearances this season but it's his creative numbers that have been in the ascendancy recently. Salah has scored four goals in his last four contests but has supplied five strikes in the same period.

However, I see goals taking precedence on Sunday as he looks to further improve his ridiculous record against Man United which currently stands at 15 goals in 16 games. Manchester City's Erling Haaland ended a three-match drought in the Premier League in the Citizens' 2-0 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium last week and will take that confidence with him into Saturday's meeting with West Ham United at the Etihad, so with only three goals separating Salah and the Norwegian in the Golden Boot race, the Egyptian will be looking to add to his tally against Man United this weekend.

Salah has one hat-trick and three braces against the Red Devils to his name, netting twice in a 3-2 FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford in 2020/21 to kickstart a goal rush in this famous fixture. His hat-trick came at Old Trafford in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign as the Reds ran riot at the famous ground, smashing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side 5-0 before bagging a brace in the reverse fixture at Anfield later in the season as Jurgen Klopp's charges won 4-0.

Liverpool secured an even bigger victory over their arch-rivals in 2022/23, annihilating Man United 7-0 at Anfield, and Salah helped himself to a couple of goals in that game, too.

Salah only scored once against West Ham last time out but really, should have rippled the net once or twice more, at least, as he fired off seven shots, four of which went on target.

He's already scored three doubles this season, the latest of which came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 22 as Liverpool thrashed Spurs 6-3; I wouldn't rule out the Reds netting a similar amount of goals on Sunday and if they do, don't be surprised to see Salah's name on the scoreboard at least a couple of times.

Bet Builder - Liverpool Win by 3+ Goals, Luis Diaz (LIV) 1+ Shots on Target, Cody Gakpo (LIV) 1+ Shots on Target, Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) 2+ Shots, Manuel Ugarte (MUN) 4+ Tackles @ 9/1

Liverpool have won four of the last seven Premier League head-to-heads with Manchester United by three or more goals including the reverse fixture this season at Old Trafford in September. Their dominance in that game is also reflected in the table and the Reds have been in rampant form recently, too, beating West Ham 5-0 last time out and Spurs 6-3 a week earlier, meaning they have won two of their last three games by a margin of at least three goals.

Man United, meanwhile, were beaten 3-0 at home by AFC Bournemouth on December 22 and only narrowly avoided three-goal losses to Wolves (2-0) and Newcastle (0-2), failing to score in any of those defeats. They've lost by three goals on three occasions this season, the first of which was, of course, against Liverpool, and there is a great risk of the Red Devils falling to another embarrassing defeat this weekend.

Salah is the standout name in the Liverpool attack but fellow forwards Diaz and Cody Gakpo will also hope to be among the headlines with both in fine form of late and for the season as a whole. Diaz has struck eight goals in 17 Premier League appearances, only 12 of which have been starts, and is averaging one shot on target per game in the competition. The Colombian bagged a brace at Spurs just before Christmas, registering five shots on target in north London, and scored once - seeing a further effort saved - last time out in east London against West Ham.

Like Diaz, Gakpo has scored in back-to-back games to take his Premier League season tally to five goals. The Dutchman found the back of the net with one of his two shots on target against Leicester City in a 3-1 win for the Reds before striking against the Irons last Sunday; both he and Diaz look good to get at least one shot on goal at Anfield this Sunday.

Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold will be equally, if not more desperate, to get on the scoresheet on Sunday as he lines up for potentially his final-ever Premier League appearance for the Reds against Man United. Speculation continues to swirl around his future with Real Madrid reportedly eying up the soon-to-be free agent and thus this game could take on added significance for the 26-year-old, who thought he had struck a first-ever goal against the Red Devils earlier in the season, recreating the iconic Steven Gerrard 'camera kiss' at Old Trafford, only to see his strike ruled out by the VAR.

Alexander-Arnold scored at the London Stadium last weekend and previously shot three times against Leicester so I think he's well on for a couple of efforts on Sunday.

Completing this Bet Builder is Man United midfielder Ugarte who should be fresh - physically and mentally - after suspension ruled him out of Monday's energy-sapping loss to Newcastle. The Uruguayan has his limitations, particularly on the ball, but is a snarling presence in midfield, as evidenced in his last appearance against Wolves at Molineux, where he made four tackles, emulating the amount he made in Man United's previous away trip at Man City.

Ugarte is averaging 2.7 tackles per game in the Premier League but that number is weighed down by only eight of his competition appearances being as a starter; half of his starts have seen him make at least four tackles and I see him being a busy man on Sunday.

Offers

Build your own Bet Builder bet (3/1+) of 4+ legs on Liverpool v Man United and get 100% of your stake back in Free Bets up to £10 if you lose. (Credited within 24 hours)

Build your own Bet Builder bet (3/1+) of 4+ legs on any Premier League game on Saturday and get 50% of your stake back in Free Bets up to £5 if you lose. (Credited within 24 hours)

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Premier League or Championship game on Friday or Saturday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Sunday’s games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement)

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.