LIVE: Manchester United v Liverpool | EPL

Date/Time
24 October 2021 | 11:30 ET Canada-USA | 17:30 CLT

Referee
Anthony Taylor (England)

Venue
Old Trafford

It’s the big one this weekend, as far as Premier League rivalries go. The 20-time English champions play host to the team that has 19 titles; the six-time European champions will be making a short trip to visit the team that’s won UEFA’s elite competition three times.

On Sunday, at Old Trafford, Manchester United will face Liverpool in the ninth round of the English top flight.

Manchester United

Things haven’t gone too well for United this season so far, despite their supporters showing huge excitement late in the summer about having Cristiano Ronaldo back in their team after 12 years. The Portuguese superstar is doing his job, there can be no doubt about that; Ronaldo has six goals in nine appearances in all competitions so far. He has shown that he still has tremendous athletic and finishing ability at the age of 36, as well as the instinct of a poacher.

Raphael Varane has been struggling with an injury, a groin problem which struck him during the UEFA Nations League final, and his absence should mean Victor Lindelof starting alongside captain Harry Maguire in the heart of defence again.

Marcus Rashford recently came back to action after several months out following a shoulder surgery. He suffered a dead leg against Atalanta and faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday, but Solskjaer believes the England international should be ready to play. It’s similar with Anthony Martial, who is currently building up his fitness.

Solskjaer put some fear into the hear of the supporters at his press conference when he said Bruno Fernandes wasn’t 100% certain to play, after suffering a ‘knock’ against Atalanta. However, the attacking midfielder won’t be missing this game if there is any chance for him to be involved at all.

David De Gea will be between the posts, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw on the defensive flanks. Things aren’t that clear in the middle of the park, though, after Solskjaer gave the Leicester defeat to Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic and replaced them with Fred and Scott McTominay against Atalanta. Upfront, Rashford will probably start if fit, and if not, Sancho would be the obvious choice to step in and flank Ronaldo together with Mason Greenwood.

Liverpool

Liverpool could hardly be in a more different situation than their arch-rivals. Still undefeated in any competition – the only undefeated team in the Premier League – they are looking as strong as ever and are very much in contention for every trophy on offer, and to think that many wrote them off from the title race because their only signing of the summer was Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.

the man the football world is talking about these days in Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian doesn’t look likely to stop scoring at the moment, and his goals in the last two league matches left spectators breathless. As his deflected shot flew past Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak on Tuesday, he became the first-ever Liverpool player to score in nine consecutive matches in all competitions, as well the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League, surpassing the iconic Steven Gerrard with his 31st strike.

At Old Trafford, he has the chance to become the African player with the most goals in the history of the Premier League – he’s currently tied with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba on 104.

Ronaldo had his days – a large number of them – at the very top of the game. He and Lionel Messi dominated the scene for more than a decade and split 11 Ballon d’Or awards between them. But right now, Salah is probably the one playing at a level higher than anybody else, with 16 goal involvements (12 goals, four assists) in just 11 matches in all competitions this season.

The Merseysiders are currently second to Chelsea in the league, trailing the London Blues by one point. Their last six matches include a 0-3 win away to Norwich City in the Carabao Cup, a 3-3 league draw away to Brentford, a 1-5 thrashing of FC Porto away in the Champions League, a 2-2 draw at home against defending Premier League champions Manchester City, a 0-5 demolition of Watford at the Vicarage, and a hard-fought victory over Atletico in Madrid earlier this week.

Klopp has confirmed that Curtis Jones is back in contention after sustaining an injury while away on England U-21 duty, but his midfield options are still short of Thiago Alcantara who’s been out with a calf problem since late September, as well as Harvey Elliott.

The 18-year-old will be out for a long time yet, having had surgery on an ankle dislocated in the win over Leeds United on September 12. The rest of the squad is ready to play.

There’s no real question about the defensive or the attacking part of the starting XI for this game. Alisson Becker in goal, Van Dijk and Matip in the heart of defence flanked by Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Fabinho as the shield ahead.

Captain Jordan Henderson is likely to take one of the two more advanced midfield roles, with the other being up for grabs between Naby Keita, James Milner, Jones, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Upfront, Klopp is likely to reward the good form Roberto Fimino ahead of Diogo Jota, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are nailed-on starters, and most likely to cause big problems for the United defence.

LIVE: Manchester United v Liverpool | EPL

Date/Time
24 October 2021 | 11:30 ET Canada-USA | 17:30 CLT