© Reuters
Football fans at an unusual time - on Monday evening, will be able to enjoy a match between two English giants who started the season with a bang. At 22:00 Lithuanian time, a match between the teams of "Manchester United" and "Liverpool" will begin at "Old Trafford" stadium. The portal "Eurofootball.com" invites you to look ahead to the upcoming match, which could bring the first season victory to one of these teams.
Past meetings This will be the second meeting of these teams in a month and a half. On July 12, these clubs started their preseason, with "Manchester United" confidently beating "Liverpool" 4-0. Although it was early preseason, that day "Red Devils" fans had reason to smile, as it was Erik ten Hag's first match as the team's manager.
Everything looked positive that day, especially the front trio of "Manchester United": Sancho, Martial, and Rashford. Rashford looked as sharp as "United" hadn't seen in a long time. Sancho looked like the player who shined in the "Borussia" team, and Martial looked as if he hadn't been loaned to "Sevilla" because he didn't fit into Ralph Rangnick's schemes. It was a positive day for "Red Devils" fans, but now everything has turned 180 degrees.
Current situation There is uncertainty in the "Man Utd" team regarding Cristiano Ronaldo's future. The 37-year-old forward's form is also not special. If Ronaldo had a positive impact on the game against "Brighton", then neither he nor his teammates shined against "Brentford", meaning they were invisible. The non-existent attack is also evidenced by the fact that so far "Red Devils" fans have not been able to celebrate their player's goal.
In defense, the situation is even worse for the "Manchester United" team. David de Gea started the season very poorly, and a slightly better performance from the Spaniard could have prevented 3 of the 6 goals conceded this season. Maguire's problem continues to be solved by both the coach and the team's fans.
Meanwhile, the start of the "Liverpool" team's season has been strange. The team managed to win the "Community Shield" trophy and it was an unforgettable day for the team's newcomer Darwin Nunez. Later came the match against "Fulham", where the "Reds" didn't look like themselves, and
everything was ultimately decided by Aleksandar Mitrovic's mastery, strange as it may sound. The Serb simply "ate" Virgil van Dijk for breakfast. In the match against "Crystal Palace", Jurgen Klopp's players started positively, but failed to score a quick goal, which is the team's trademark, and later had trouble controlling the reactive Wilfried Zaha. In the second half, the same team newcomer Darwin Nunez shined again, only this time he headed not to the goal, but to Joachim Andersen for some reason. Well, the youngster couldn't handle the tension and the physicality of the "Premier League", as can be seen from various videos. Essentially, in both the first and second match, "Liverpool" did not deserve more than a draw.
Forecasted starting lineups "Manchester United": De Gea; Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Fernandes, McTominay, Eriksen; Rashford, Ronaldo, Sancho. "Liverpool": Alison; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Elliott; Diaz, Firmino, Salah.
Coaches' comments Erik ten Hag: "I can only say that the owners want to win. We want the team's fans to be with the team. I haven't been in this club for so long, but I see what's behind the scenes. We have to fight together. I analyze myself. I notice the criticism I receive. Some criticism is correct, I accept it. And some I don't," - the Dutchman spoke about himself and possible fan protests before the match.
Jurgen Klopp: "I knew that the results from last year wouldn't repeat. Currently, it's a completely different situation. I'd rather play with them after they've won 5-0, but it is what it is. We also played twice with draws, so now is it not a good time to play with us?" - mused the "Liverpool" strategist.
Bookmakers' predictions Bookmakers give as much as 61% chance for a "Liverpool" victory in this match. 22% are given to the possibility of a draw, and 17% are given to a "Manchester United" triumph. There is also a 65% chance that there will be more than 2 goals scored in this match.
Eurofootball.com prediction The bookmakers' predictions align with reality. "Liverpool" is hardly considered such a favorite before a match at "Old Trafford" stadium in the past decade. Even with Jurgen Klopp's rookies starting the season, it doesn't look as bad as the poor start of the new era at "Red Devils."
Nevertheless, the fans gathered at the stadium can inspire the players, especially Cristiano Ronaldo, who still has ambitions for such a match. Eurofootball.com prediction: "Manchester United" 1:3 "Liverpool"
