Man United vs Liverpool Prediction: Klopp to depart Old Trafford with leaving present

The dust has barely settled since the last time Manchester United and Liverpool did battle at Old Trafford just under three weeks ago, when the Red Devils struck a last-gasp winner in extra time to win their FA Cup quarter-final 4-3.

But the bitter rivals are back in action against each other this Sunday (KO, 15:30), live on Sky Sports Main Event, with the hosts looking to derail the Merseyside club's Premier League title hopes. Below is our Man United vs Liverpool prediction as Jurgen Klopp prepares to take charge of his last game at Old Trafford as Reds boss. 

The two sides enter Sunday's contest on the back of wildly contrasting results.

Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Anfield last Sunday before a 3-1 win against Sheffield United at the same venue four days later. Those results, combined with Manchester City and Arsenal dropping points against each other, ensure they are top of the Premier League heading into the weekend, though both of their title rivals can overtake them on Saturday.

Man United, meanwhile, are still smarting after a horror six days which started with a 1-1 draw at Brentford and ended in a 4-3 defeat at Chelsea on Thursday. The scorelines don't even tell the full story, though, as the Bees absolutely dominated their visitors at the Gtech Community Stadium and registered 31 shot attempts.

Still, the Red Devils managed to take the lead deep into stoppage time, but that wasn't to last long as the hosts struck an equaliser just minutes later.

Then, at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea raced into a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes before seemingly contriving to throw the game away as they went 3-2 behind on 67 minutes. Manchester United looked to have done enough for the three points before Cole Palmer's double - in the 100th and 101st minute - capped a stunning comeback for the Blues. Cue absolute carnage in the Blues dugout, and meltdown in the Man United one.

Team News

The Red Devils injury crisis shows no signs of abating, with Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans both picking up injuries in west London. According to Ten Hag, it's too early to assess the severity of their injuries, but if they do join Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez on the sidelines, the Dutchman is left with Harry Maguire and 19-year-old Willy Kambwala as his only recognised central defenders.

There are also doubts over the availability of Casemiro, who was forced off in the second half at Stamford Bridge, with Scott McTominay primed to replace the Brazilian. McTominay will be looking to replicate his goalscoring exploits in last month's FA Cup quarter-final, when he opened the scoring early on.

Marcus Rashford will hope to be restored to the starting XI after being restricted to a substitute appearance on Thursday, but it remains to be seen who he would replace on the wing after Antony provided a rare assist and Alejandro Garnacho struck a brace against the Blues.

Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Martial are all still out injured for the hosts.

Liverpool have several players still out injured themselves. Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip are long-term absentees and while Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic and Diogo Jota are all getting closer to a return to action, Sunday's game arrives too soon for the quartet.

Klopp will be hopeful Wataru Endo can shake off the knock which forced him to miss Thursday's win over Sheffield United. The Japanese midfielder will be expected to line up alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield if passed fit, but in the event that he is not, Curtis Jones could be the one to replace Ryan Gravenberch.

The other big selection dilemma in front of Klopp is whether to restore Andy Robertson to the starting XI after the Scotland international registered a superb assist for fellow substitute Cody Gakpo in midweek. Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley will be left to battle it out at right-back if Robertson does get the nod.

Match Odds

Since dismantling the Red Devils - then under the stewardship of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 5-0 in October 2021, Klopp has presided over back-to-back defeats at Old Trafford. That hasn't harmed the odds of victory for his side on Sunday, with the 22-point gap between the sides reflected in the 8/13 odds for them to win, with the hosts at 18/5 to take all three points.

Those odds give Liverpool an implied win probability of 61.9%, with United down at 21.7%. The draw, meanwhile, can be backed at 7/2, and over 3.5 goals - which has landed in six of the last eight meetings between the sides - is 4/5.

Liverpool to win & both teams to score @ 6/4

Liverpool have failed to win either of their head-to-heads with Man Utd this season, with the reverse fixture in the league at Anfield ending in a goalless draw. Klopp will be scratching his head as to how his side didn't win both, which should further fuel them to find victory in the German's final visit to Old Trafford as Reds boss.

The Merseyside outfit have responded well to their defeat in the FA Cup prior to the international break, beating both Brighton and Sheffield United, though they were forced to stage a comeback against the Seagulls and were held by the Blades until the 76th minute on Thursday.

The goals they conceded in those games mean Liverpool are now without a clean sheet in their last six matches in all competitions, which should pique the interest of United who have found the net in all 14 of their contests this calendar year.

A goal or two shouldn't be enough to deprive the visitors of victory, however. United produced an absolutely dismal performance against Brentford before following it up with a lesson in how not to see out a lead in the dying embers at Stamford Bridge.

Sure, the Red Devils usually raise their game against their old foes, but their opponents are only eight matches away from delivering the perfect parting gift for Klopp before he sails off, presumably, into the sunset (also known as Ibiza).

I don't see Liverpool throwing this one away, especially considering the injury issues at Old Trafford currently. Away win, but expect plenty of goals.

Mohamed Salah 3+ shots on target @ 10/3

Manchester United have conceded more shots in the Premier League than any other team in 2024 - that's the statistic currently doing the rounds on socials at the moment, and it's a harrowing one at that.

It's not just aimless shots, either. 10 of Chelsea's 28 shots on Thursday went on target, five of Brentford's 31, six of Everton's 23 and eight of Man City's 27. That's just their last four league games, but Liverpool had 10 shots on target during regular time of their FA Cup quarter-final last month.

Mohamed Salah was responsible for two of those before being substituted in the second half as Klopp looked to manage his minutes on his return from injury. Klopp did the same on Thursday against the Blades, whom the Egyptian also struck two shots on target against, but Liverpool's star man will be expected to play the entirety of Sunday's contest.

Salah had four shots on target against Brighton last weekend and that's how many he managed when he struck a hat-trick at Old Trafford in October 2021.

Chelsea's Palmer had five shots on target against Andre Onana in the United goal a few days ago as he bagged a treble, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Salah replicate such numbers on Sunday.

Betfred are running their famed Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven offer on this match, meaning that if a player scores first and then nets again, you will be paid at double the odds. If he grabs a hat-trick, you will be paid at treble the odds!

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.