Man United vs Liverpool Prediction: Visitors to put end to Old Trafford agony this year

Arguably the Premier League's greatest club rivalry is renewed at Old Trafford on Sunday (16:00, Sky Sports Main Event) as Manchester United and Liverpool lock horns for the first time this season. The hosts are hurting after last Saturday's late 1-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, while the visitors should be in a confident mood after back-to-back 2-0 wins against Ipswich Town (A) and Brentford (H).

Read below for my Man United vs Liverpool prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this crunch clash, which acts as the final Premier League game before the international break.

Team News

Manchester United's injury issues last season have carried over into the new campaign, with a quartet of defenders - Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Victor Lindelof - sitting out the first two games, and making it three this weekend. Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund is also still sidelined after limping out of a pre-season friendly with Arsenal last month.

On a brighter note, Sunday could see the full debuts of Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt, who joined in the summer from Bologna and Bayern Munich respectively. Dutch forward Zirkzee came off the bench to score the winner on his debut, a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season, and looked sharp as a second-half substitute against Brighton last weekend, while De Ligt has also made two substitute outings and is in line to replace Harry Maguire at the heart of the Red Devils backline.

Alejandro Garnacho is also chomping at the bit to start after a couple of encouraging substitute appearances; he registered an assist against Fulham and had a goal chalked out versus Brighton.

Mason Mount was substituted at half-time against the Seagulls with an injury issue and will drop out, most likely for Zirzkee, against Liverpool, but it remains to be seen whether Erik ten Hag keeps faith with Marcus Rashford, who has been ineffective so far this term, ahead of Garnacho. Rashford has seven career goals against Sunday's opponents, all of which have come at Old Trafford; he struck one in a 4-3 extra-time victory over the Merseysiders in the FA Cup in March.

Football Odds

After beating Ipswich in his first game in charge as Liverpool head coach, Arne Slot made one change to his starting XI for last Sunday's victory against Brentford, swapping out Jarell Quansah for Ibrahima Konate. The Frenchman looks set to partner Virgil van Dijk again this weekend, with Alisson Becker behind the central defensive duo in goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson deployed as full-backs.

Ryan Gravenberch has impressed in a deeper midfield role for the Reds so far and the 22-year-old is expected to keep his place in the engine room alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz each have a goal and assist to their name after the first two games, and the duo will line up in attack again with Mohamed Salah, who scored Liverpool's second against Brentford to add to the goal and assist he got at Ipswich.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo headline a strong substitutes bench for Slot's side, but Curtis Jones and new signing Federico Chiesa are unlikely to join the duo there, with the former an injury doubt and the latter still settling into his new surroundings.

Manchester United vs Liverpool Odds

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Man United won a dramatic cup tie at Old Trafford in March but haven't beaten their bitter rivals in a Premier League fixture since August 2022; the Red Devils are 11/4, or a 26.7% chance, to triumph on Sunday, while Liverpool are favourites for the victory at 4/5, giving the reigning Carabao Cup champions an implied win probability of 55.6%.

The last three competitive meetings between these sides - including the cup tie earlier this year - have ended in a draw after regulation time; it's 3/1 for another stalemate on Sunday.

Both teams to score was a winner in the most recent Premier League match between Man United and Liverpool, a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in April, and you can back both teams to find the net again at 2/5, while over 3.5 total goals and a 2-2 scoreline are 1/1 and 10/1 respectively.

Salah is favourite to score anytime at 23/20, and you can get 7/2 for him to strike first. Zirkzee is the most-fancied Man United player to net anytime on Sunday at 21/10; the 23-year-old is 13/2 to grab the first goal.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Liverpool to Win & Yes @ 9/5

It's a cliche, but this is a tough one to predict on Sunday. All logic pointed towards comfortable victories for Liverpool last season, yet the Reds failed to win any of three head-to-heads - two in the Premier League, and one in the FA Cup.

Under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool dominated large spells of all three fixtures, yet they were held to a goalless draw in the first league meeting at Anfield, suffered extra-time heartache at Old Trafford in the cup in March, and drew 2-2 at the same venue three weeks later.

So, can Slot end Liverpool's search for a win in this fixture, one that stretches back to the 7-0 thrashing of the Red Devils in March 2023?

The early signs are positive under the Dutchman, who was handed the herculean task of following in Klopp's giant footsteps in the summer. Slot has stressed that he shares many similar traits to Klopp, but he has also been at pains to point out one key difference between the two.

Slot has called for Liverpool to be more patient in possession, avoiding going forward at every available opportunity, and that may be a tactic that suits the side in a big game like Sunday. Twice at Old Trafford last season, Liverpool were caught cold at the back, something especially obvious in Amad's breakaway winner in the cup tie.

Under Slot, that sort of goal is likely to be less common, with a gung-ho approach abandoned. That's not to say he is a conservative coach, but there appears to be more of a focus on the defensive positioning of players, akin to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

With all this in mind, I think the visitors can edge this contest at Old Trafford. It may not be straightforward, highlighted in the fact I think both teams will score at Old Trafford for the third game running, but I have to apply common sense, and that means I can't back Ten Hag to produce a tactical masterclass out of nowhere which, admittedly, he did in last season's FA Cup final against Man City.

I wasn't particularly impressed by the Red Devils in their opening-day victory over Fulham - I think it was a stretch by some of his staunchest supporters to suggest it was anything other than a basic performance at home to a mid-table side - while they were outplayed at times by Brighton last weekend.

At risk of being embarrassed for a third time this calendar year, I'm predicting Liverpool to win, and both teams to score.

Player to Receive a Card - Ryan Gravenberch @ 18/5

It's been a summer of soul-searching for Liverpool supporters who have had to come to terms with the fact there will be no specialist No.6 signing. The hierarchy tried and failed to lure Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi from San Sebastian, which has led them to a position of trusting in the current midfield options to protect the defence.

Duch international Gravenberch was a bit-part player in his debut campaign but has taken on a lot more responsibility under Slot, starting both games so far, and he has been putting himself about in the middle of the park.

The Ajax Academy graduate made a whopping five fouls at Ipswich before giving away two free-kicks against Brentford, being shown a yellow card in the latter game. That was his first-ever Premier League yellow card, which probably goes a long way to explaining his high price of 18/5 to be cautioned at Old Trafford on Sunday.

However, I think his early-season form is indicative of a new Gravenberch, one that will be a snarly presence in midfield under Slot. That's not to say he will turn into Gennaro Gattuso but even last season he was averaging 0.8 fouls per game, which I expect to increase significantly this term.

He will have his work cut out this weekend to contain the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, the latter having been fouled six times already this season, and I can see him appearing in the referee's notebook.

Offers

We will be Top Price or joint Top Price on Liverpool to beat Man United with selected bookmakers using oddschecker.com for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Sunday).

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