Jose Mourinho’s men have now emerged victorious from each of their last six Premier League encounters, with their most recent victory coming against West Ham United at the start of last week. Having struggled in the first few games of his tenure at Old Trafford, the former Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid manager looks to have turned the corner in the past couple of months, with United beginning to operate as more than the sum of their individual parts for the first time. Summer signings Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all impressed, while central midfielders Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick bring vital balance in the engine room and Phil Jones looks like a player reborn in the heart of the Red Devils’ defence.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are unbeaten in the six top-flight fixtures they have contested since their dramatic 4-3 defeat by Bournemouth in early December. Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur last week means the gap separating Jurgen Klopp’s charges from top spot now stands at just five points, a margin that the Reds will be quietly confident of overturning between now and the end of the campaign. Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford will be a difficult one, though, and Liverpool may look to use a similar strategy to the one they employed in the 1-0 victory over Manchester City on New Year’s Eve: in that encounters, the Merseysiders took an early lead through Gini Wijnaldum and then completely shut the match down with some excellent game management.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo should be available for selection once more, but central defender Eric Bailly is in Gabon to represent Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations. Wayne Rooney, who needs just one goal to become United’s standalone all-time record goalscorer, will probably start on the substitutes’ bench, with Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all vying for one of the three support roles behind lone striker Ibrahimovic (the other two will almost certainly be filled by Mkhitaryan and Pogba).
Liverpool are hoping to have James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho and Joel Matip involved, but Danny Ings remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury and Senegal international Sadio Mane is also taking part in the Africa Cup of Nations. Roberto Firmino will probably be deployed as a wide forward and Divock Origi as the visitors’ central striker, while Adam Lallana’s invention and creativity will once again be essential.
This is an extremely tough match to call, but home advantage may give United the edge against their biggest rivals. The best betting option for Sunday afternoon’s clash at Old Trafford may therefore be a home win with both teams to find the back of the net. Alternatively, if you are feeling a little braver, consider putting your money behind a 2-1 United triumph in the correct scoreline market.
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