Today in the English Premier League, it's a battle of the "reds". Two well-acquainted teams, Manchester United and Liverpool, will clash swords. Manchester United - Liverpool Tournament: Premier League (16th round) Stadium: Old Trafford (Manchester) Referee: Martin Atkinson Date and time: 2014-12-14, 15:30 Manchester United Criticism at the beginning of the season - unjustified. That's what we can say now, as Louis van Gaal's team has started to show excellent form and their winning streak in England has continued for five consecutive matches. The "Red Devils" started the season very poorly, but they currently hold the third place in the Premier League table. Man Utd has eight wins, four draws, and three losses. In their last match, the former English champions faced a serious challenge against Southampton. Man Utd showed superiority on the road, with two goals from Robin van Persie securing a 2-1 victory. The last time Man Utd stumbled was on November 2nd, when they had to face Manchester City at Etihad Stadium and lost by a narrow margin. The Manchester team has also suffered defeats this season against teams like Swansea and Leicester City. L. van Gaal won't step onto the field without losses, as four players- Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, and Daley Blind, are sidelined due to injuries. Nevertheless, Radamel Falcao, Phil Jones, and Rafael are likely to be ready to step onto the pitch. Predicted starting lineup: David De Gea McNair - Phil Jones - Marcos Rojo Valencia - Fellaini - Carrick - Juan Mata- Ashley Young Van Persie - Rooney Liverpool We could apply the phrase to Liverpool: "A great previous season does not guarantee a successful start in the new season." The season of 2013-14 went almost perfectly for the Reds- a return to the Champions League and a narrow miss in the Premier League. However, this season under Brendan Rodgers has been catastrophic. After 15 rounds, they are in the 9th position in the league table. Liverpool has six wins, three draws, and six losses in their 15 matches. In their last Premier League match, Liverpool faced Sunderland and ended with another loss and a goalless draw. It is worth mentioning that on Tuesday, Liverpool ended their Champions League campaign with a draw against Basel. In their last five matches, Liverpool has managed only two wins in England. The Premier League runners-up previously lost to Chelsea and surprisingly suffered a 3-1 defeat against Crystal Palace on November 23rd. B. Rodgers will also not have the strongest lineup against Man Utd due to injuries to key forwards Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli. Spanish Suso and defender Jon Flanagan are also missing. Predicted starting lineup: Simon Mignolet Glen Johnson - Martin Skrtel - Dejan Lovren - Alberto Moreno Jordan Henderson - Steven Gerrard Adam Lallana - Philippe Coutinho - Raheem Sterling Rickie Lambert Last five head-to-head matches: Liverpool 1 - 3 Manchester United (2014) Manchester United 0 - 3 Liverpool (2014) Manchester United 1 - 0 Liverpool (2013) Liverpool 1 - 0 Manchester United (2013) Manchester United 2 - 1 Liverpool (2013) Match prediction: Despite the different forms of both teams, an intriguing and fierce battle awaits as two of the biggest rivals in the Premier League face off. Last season, Liverpool conquered the hosts in Manchester, but we won't see the same today for sure. Prediction: 2-1 in favor of the home team.
Aivaras Katutis
