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On Sunday, at 18:30 Lithuanian time, the eternal rivals "Liverpool" and "Manchester United" footballers will face off at the "Anfield" stadium. These matches, even when the teams are not at their best, always caused a huge commotion worldwide, and this season the match will be special because both teams realistically contend for the "Premier League" title. The portal "Eurofootball.com" invites you to look at the upcoming match and the key aspects that could determine the outcome.
Tournament table situation: "Man Utd" finished last season on a high note and returned to the UEFA Champions League, but perhaps no one expected the "Red Devils" to challenge champions like "Liverpool" or "Manchester City" footballers. Although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team started the season in a shaky manner, as best evidenced by a painful 1:6 defeat to "Tottenham," "Man Utd" has been steadily collecting points lately and rose to the top position in the tournament table after playing postponed matches in the middle of the week against "Burnley."
"Liverpool" is not the dominant force this season, which not long ago swept away one opponent after another. This is influenced not only by the difficult schedule of the season but also by the injuries that have hit the team. Jurgen Klopp's players have not won in the Premier League in the last three consecutive games and if they fail to win this evening, they could start the week in just the fourth position in the tournament table.
In terms of injuries, all teams have to deal with an increased number of injuries this season, and players could be lost at any time due to a positive coronavirus test. However, "Man Utd" is in a much better position. The only more serious absence for the "Red Devils" in this match could be Anthony Martial, but there is still a good chance that the Frenchman will be ready for this crucial match. O. G. Solskjaer confirmed at the press conference that the team will definitely be without Brandon Williams, who has hardly played this season, and the forgotten Phil Jones.
Jurgen Klopp's situation is much worse. The German has been without his main defender Virgil van Dijk for a long time, and injuries have also hit Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, Naby Keita, and Kostas Tsimikas. Besides, it is still unclear whether another defender - Joel Matip - will be able to help his team.
Leaders: Looking at the leaders, Mohamed Salah shines the brightest again at "Liverpool" this season. The Egyptian has already scored 13 goals in the Premier League this season and has made three assists. In the assists chart, Andrew Robertson stands out this season, assisting his teammates five times. His output significantly exceeds that of his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the defensive line.
After losing two main defenders, Brazilian Fabinho's role in the midfield became crucial. The defensive midfielder sometimes even covers holes in the defense and leads such statistical categories as interceptions or won aerial duels.
Unsurprisingly, the game of "Man Utd" still revolves around Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese player has already won the best player of the month award twice this season in the league and has received this recognition four times in the calendar year. No player has achieved this feat so far.
Attacking midfielder in the Premier League has already scored 11 goals and made seven assists. It should be noted that B. Fernandes started the season somewhat slowly, which is strongly reflected in "Man Utd" results. It is clear that the Portuguese is the lynchpin that drives the entire "Red Devils" mechanism.
Captain Harry Maguire, who has received a lot of criticism, has recently become a defensive pillar that can be relied upon again. Many football experts believe this is related to the return of Eric Bailly to the lineup, whose partnership with the captain looks really solid.
Forecast: The betting companies consider the home team, "Liverpool" players, as favorites for the match, giving them a victory probability of about 50 percent. The bookmakers rate the chances of "United" victory at about 26 percent. Interestingly, gamblers expect a fairly high-scoring match with at least three goals scored.
Eurofootball.com prediction: This should undoubtedly be a hotly contested match with plenty of emotions and tough battles. However, a draw in this match would probably not be the worst result for both teams, so we cannot rule out the possibility that the game could end goalless, reminiscent of the Manchester derby. Eurofootball.com prediction: "Liverpool" 1:1 "Manchester United"
