Manchester United have done very well to beat Chelsea and progress to the sixth round of the FA Cup, but that is now in the past. The next match is the most important one for all Man United fans – Old Trafford will host Liverpool, as the Merseyside rival wants to finally win the league title after 29 years of wait.
The Devils will be eager to spoil their plans and give a hand to Man City in their quest of retaining the Premier League title. Liverpool and Man City are at the top with 65 points each, but if Man United manage to keep their winning streak going, then City will be in pole position after 27 rounds. Also, not everything will be centered around Liverpool, as United are still chasing Champions League football and in order to reach the fourth place in the standings, these three points could prove to be crucial.
So, what are the things regarding Liverpool we should be taking a look at?
Three Wins In 2019
Liverpool have played seven times this year, but just three wins is not enough for them. The blip in form and results – also helped by the several injuries in their team – resulted in Man City truly being back in the title race. The teams Liverpool have beaten in 2019 is not a list that will impose fear on others – Brighton, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich indeed was a positive one, but losses to Man City and Wolves in League Cup disappointed their fans. Add 1-1 draws against Leicester and West Ham and you get trouble.
It looked as if Liverpool went a bit 2017-18 in recent matches, especially against weaker Premier League sides – being unable to find ways to score multiple goals. Chance creation against Foxes and Hammers was poor, as they remained below 1.40 expected goals in both matches.
Salah’s Goalscoring Is Not A Coincidence
Man United should do everything they can to stop Mohamed Salah. He has scored 17 goals in the league alone this season. And it is no wonder, as it looks like he is scoring them from even better positions than last season. While last campaign was a truly hot one, this one is prolific as well. Simply said, all 17 goals Salah scored came from the “sweet spot” of the penalty area – from its’ central areas. There were no goals from long range or wide areas and tight angles.
Solskjaer’s defenders should pay attention to that, as Salah is more inclined to take shots from better, more central positions.
Injury Problems
Liverpool will, once again, have their issues with injuries. Three players are confirmed to not feature against Man United – Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez are out from defensive side of the squad, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still recovering from his last season’s injury. This means Jurgen Klopp’s options at centre-back are limited and Joel Matip will be eager to start alongside Virgil van Dijk. Also, Fabinho helped out in the Champions League in the heart of defence and some of those combinations are to expected.
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