It is time again – Manchester United and Liverpool are to meet on the second consecutive Sunday. After a 0-0 draw in the Premier League at Anfield, this time the match will be played at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Team News
It will be interesting to see which sides the two teams will put out on Sunday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that there will be some rotations, but that United will put out a really strong team that will do their best to win. Liverpool, on the other hand, are badly in need of any kind of victory, after their Premier League falterings in the past month. The visitors will probably be without captain Jordan Henderson. The midfielder missed Liverpool’s game against Burnley with a muscle strain. It remains to be seen how much will Jurgen Klopp rotate, but considering Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino did not start in midweek, they will probably start this time around. Kostas Tsimikas does not have injury problems anymore and this might be a chance for him to allow Andy Robertson to rest. Naby Keita, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are all amongst those Klopp will not be able to count on due to injuries.
Man United will not have any real problems with injuries, with players like Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo being the only real ones who will miss out due to not being ready. But from Solskjaer’s point of view, some of the first-teamers will be rested. Marcus Rashford will probably be back in team, while Fred could get a rest in midfield and Eric Bailly in defence.
Form Guide
It has not been a long time since these two sides met the last time – just a week in fact – but Liverpool’s problems have grown bigger. Jurgen Klopp’s side is in a run of form they have never experienced since the German has arrived and they will want to get a win any way they can.
Liverpool have not scored a single Premier League goal in their past four matches and the only good result they have had in 2021 was a 4-1 win in the FA Cup against Aston Villa’s kids, as they had too many problems with coronavirus. The last time Liverpool met a proper first team side and scored a goal was the day after Boxing Day, when they drew 1-1 against relegation-threatened West Brom. Since then, there were no goals against Newcastle, Southampton, Man United and Burnley.
Manchester United, on the other hand, were in the meantime back to winning matches. After that goalless draw last week, Man United went to London and got a 2-1 win against Fulham. It was not the prettiest performance, but it allowed the Devils to stay top of the Premier League.
Predicted Outcome
This one will be tough to call, especially since it is an elimination game. Our prediction is that Manchester United will go through, but not through the regular 90 minutes. It will be a really tough task for both sides, but Man United will prevail due to their better form and more options to choose from to come on off the bench.
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