Topic: MATCH PREVIEW: Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday the 7th of April

[JC the Messiah]

I'd actually prefer a slim victory for us that offers some hope to them which means they keep Ten Hag next season. Playing Poker not snap 

I'd rather go all-in with the stone-cold nuts and double up, while stacking them.

This game isn't going to determine his future, and I care more about our points and goal difference than them.

[Kloppage Time]

Having Elliot. Curtis and Gakpo on the bench is a big benefit

[PaulF]

I'd rather go all-in with the stone-cold nuts and double up, while stacking them.

This game isn't going to determine his future, and I care more about our points and goal difference than them.

Yeah. They have precedent for sacking managers when CL qualification has gone. We are way past that stage.

[MonsLibpool]

I would start Endo because we need to be as vertical as possible in the midfield. They won't be any midfield battle per say so a pure DM is redundant.

Szobo-Mac-Elliott.

Elliott has been impressive and the drive and directness he brings makes it less likely for to start the game half-asleep.
I said yesterday that we have an hour to win the game based on the assumption that they'll press for an early goal. If we score first ourselves then that window increases.

This a a team that's bereft of confidence snd we shouldn't give them anything to cling on to.

[Crosby Nick]

That actually makes me think that Ten Hag and Ratcliffe are one and the same person.

[Nick110581]

I would start Endo because we need to be as vertical as possible in the midfield. They won't be any midfield battle per say so a pure DM is redundant.

Szobo-Mac-Elliott.

We need protection and Endo offers that. 

[Yosser0_0]

Chelsea 'draw' - no handball for the raised hand and a shady offside with dodgy lines drawn

We gifted them a goal and were lucky they had another disallowed when they were all over us after we let them back in. Yeah, the no handball was inexplicable but we shouldn't be relying on them, the team didn't play particularly well that day.

Arsenal - basketball hands - no penalty

We missed pretty much an open goal after a breakaway, Trent? Was it - hit the crossbar?

Spurs. Legitimate goal not given, Jones sent off after winning the ball, Jota sent off after first  not touching a man, then getting fouled and kicking the ball away when the ref fucked him over on that

Yeah, I'll give you that, the whole situation looked bent.

City. Defender boots Liverpool player in the chest in the area. No penalty of course for the non-biased PGMOL

Two clear cut and pretty easy chances missed by Diaz, its these types of misses that are costing us more than anything.

[MonsLibpool]

We need protection and Endo offers that.

The key is making the best use of the spaces between the lines. Mac Allister would move it quicker and get us into better positions faster. If we do that AND we're ruthless with our decision making then whatever they do is irrelevant.

They don't really have a midfield because of their lack of compactness. The last time we played them, their midfield got gassed after 20 minutes.  Maguire is slow and he'll sit deep which means that the guys in the middle needs to make 80 metre sprints to support the attack and defend.

[Wool]

We need width in this game. Bradley and Robbo have to start in the fullback positions and not Gomez which, imo, would be a massively conservative move. They done us in the fa cup fixture because they defended incredibly narrow and we had no threat out wide. We need players on the pitch who can hurt them in those areas.

[Hazell]

Nice OP

We definitely owe them this season, game raising bastards.

[Yosser0_0]

Yeah I'd like to see Robbo play, he's a big miss in my view.

[JackWard33]

We need protection and Endo offers that. 

Not in this fixture he doesn’t - have you watched them ? Unless they’re an Uber athlete a defensive 6 is just redundant and Endos nowhere near quick enough to stop their counters .. you’re basically sacrificing a creative player for zero reason

[Knight]

Not in this fixture he doesn’t - have you watched them ? Unless they’re an Uber athlete a defensive 6 is just redundant and Endos nowhere near quick enough to stop their counters .. you’re basically sacrificing a creative player for zero reason

How many years is it now arguing with the DM ultras Jack? The nerds must be about to grant you a long service award.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Not in this fixture he doesn’t - have you watched them ? Unless they’re an Uber athlete a defensive 6 is just redundant and Endos nowhere near quick enough to stop their counters .. you’re basically sacrificing a creative player for zero reason

[classycarra]

We need protection and Endo offers that. 

You're wildly underrating Mac by saying that.

There's this odd logical bias sometimes that really good creative technical players have to, by definition, not be 'solid' or able to offer 'protection'. Always been endemic in England football discussions too (Glen Johnson is a good footballer, therefore 'he can't defend' - but an inferior footballer must therefore be 'better defensively'). Especially centre backs who are good footballers - something about that sight sometimes crosses people's wires.

You obviously can't argue over who's the better footballer and passer, but you can argue over who you think is the better defender of the two if so inclined. But Mac is objectively the more productive in terms of winning the ball, making tackles and interceptions. And that's not just a virtue of playing more games, or playing higher up. He makes twice as many tackles in our defensive third per 90 minutes as Endo does.

So yeah "we need protection", agreed. But I find it wild that this far into the season, and with so so many great performances in that position, some people still don't respect Mac Allister as a number 6.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

You're wildly underrating Mac by saying that.

There's this odd logical bias sometimes that really good creative technical players have to, by definition, not be 'solid' or able to offer 'protection'. Always been endemic in England football discussions too (Glen Johnson is a good footballer, therefore 'he can't defend' - but an inferior footballer must therefore be 'better defensively'). Especially centre backs who are good footballers - something about that sight sometimes crosses people's wires.

You obviously can't argue over who's the better footballer and passer, but you can argue over who you think is the better defender of the two if so inclined. But Mac is objectively the more productive in terms of winning the ball, making tackles and interceptions. And that's not just a virtue of playing more games, or playing higher up. He makes twice as many tackles in our defensive third per 90 minutes as Endo does.

So yeah "we need protection", agreed. But I find it wild that this far into the season, and with so so many great performances in that position, some people still don't respect Mac Allister as a number 6.

Mac was outstanding as a defender on Thursday. A real MoM game - he was everywhere and involved in everything.

We are so lucky to have him and Endo available - both game changers. Got a great squad nowdays - the true mark of how well Klopp has done is to change a decent team into a great squad.

An achievement that is often overlooked. Does make me worry what will happen when the next fella comes in. Hoping I'm worrying about nothing.

[disgraced cake]

Think Endo will come back in and don't really have any problems with that but do wonder if Mac Allister/Jones/Szoboszlai could offer a bit more in the games we have left to play. Bit of a conundrum because they could all be starting when fit.

I think if Endo and Nunez avoid cards here they've basically seen any chance of a two match ban out.

If Robertson can perform like he did on Thursday until the end of the season it'd be absolutely huge.

[classycarra]

Mac was outstanding as a defender on Thursday. A real MoM game - he was everywhere and involved in everything.

he was, Andy.

not limited to (but its the kind of thing that goes unnoticed), tracking their giant lump striker into our box defending a rare long ball that eluded VVD and Ibou, and then using his strength to hold the guy who was about a foot taller and wider than him at bay for Kelleher to come out. He's shepherded stuff out for goal kicks like a CB loads this season too. He's insanely versatile and intelligent - whatever area of the pitch he's in, he knows what role he needs to play

[JackWard33]

How many years is it now arguing with the DM ultras Jack? The nerds must be about to grant you a long service award.

Haha .. true - I mean there’s a need for ball winning / defensive screening etc etc in some fixtures
And Mac is better than Endo defensively is the perception vs reality thing …. BUT in this fixture both of them are pretty redundant defensively …
United are getting the ball and playing it forward, mostly wide as fast as they can - there’s basically no building through midfield. When you get it they literally retreat and vacate the space. You could play Jones as the 6 if you wanted to
The question for us is how do we consistently break them down when they’re in shape because we were horrible at it in the fa cup game

[kaesarsosei]

Will probably take pelters for this, but I wouldn't mind Gravenberch getting at least 30 mins. From what I have seen of United in recent weeks, someone like him would have a field day in the space between United's defence and what passes for their midfield.

Don't get me wrong, if we have Endo, Mac, Szob, Jones and Elliott playing the full 90 between them it will be fine but there's definitely a way Gravenberch can flourish in this match.

[duvva 💅]

Thanks for the OP Terry. Think we’ve been guilty of underestimating the rivalry once or twice recently due to a couple of out of the ordinary results.

We’re also so much better than them in all departments it’s easy to think like that. But recent games there should show us this isn’t the game to think like that. Any kind of win will do regardless of current form etc.

Just hope our players are extra motivated by last months defeat, that in addition to them having more injuries and us having a few back should prove enough for us.

[Draex]

Will probably take pelters for this, but I wouldn't mind Gravenberch getting at least 30 mins. From what I have seen of United in recent weeks, someone like him would have a field day in the space between United's defence and what passes for their midfield.

Don't get me wrong, if we have Endo, Mac, Szob, Jones and Elliott playing the full 90 between them it will be fine but there's definitely a way Gravenberch can flourish in this match.

Not for me, can’t have anyone out there who keeps losing 50/50 challenges. Going to be loud, intense and hostile the first 15mins and off the pitch, we need to match aggression with aggression, then beat them with our much better team.

Endo, Mac, Szobo with Jones coming on around 60mins to manage the game out for me.

[SamLad]

Jurgen has only won twice at OT - is that accurate?

[MonsLibpool]

How we attack is what will determined the result because, for as team as poor as they are, they are very efficient. Rashford, Fernandes, Hojlund, Garnacho and Mctominay can score and create goals. As we saw in the cup game, what demoralizes them is us scoring. That's why our attack is key.

We have a star man in the team but we ahould avoid being predictable and one-dimensional by passing him short to him all the time. A decent long shot will put them in two minds because it would tempt them to come out in another phase of play. Mixing it up will help a lot.

There's no point of being defensive minded because they are good enough to score whether early on or in the last 10 minutes. That early goal is crucial for them because it gives them something to cling on to. If we start the way we've been starting games recently,  we'll definitely concede so a decent start will go a long way.

Like I set earlier, we have a set window where we can take the game away from them because they'll throw the kitchen sink if the score is close towards the end. So, there's no point being pedestrian and wasting our own time.

[Phineus]

Jurgen has only won twice at OT - is that accurate?

Sounds about right in league? Think we often drew against them under Mourinho.

We did win in Europa though of course.

[MonsLibpool]

Sounds about right in league? Think we often drew against them under Mourinho.

We did win in Europa though of course.

We drew.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35815538

[Phineus]

We drew.

Huh, weird.

[Yosser0_0]

They are definitely a bogey side and I'm not sure there is a team we have a worst record against? This and Goodison will be two of our hardest games to get a result.

[Lynndenberries]

Huh, weird.

Thought we won that too. I guess the Coutinho goal pretty much killed the tie.

[jillcwhomever]

They are definitely a bogey side and I'm not sure there is a team we have a worst record against? This and Goodison will be two of our hardest games to get a result.

It's natural though. Even when United when dominating and winning titles on the whole the game between us were always very close. In a game like this form has little to do with anything, because it means so much to both sets of fans. It makes it a unique game, somehow we have to make it seem like just another game.

[jepovic]

Please play Robbo.
Gomez on the left limits us so much, its essentially telling the opponents that we wont attack on our left side
Robbos overlaps are crucial for Diaz as well

[Crosby Nick]

Jurgen has only won twice at OT - is that accurate?

The 5-0 and the 4-2. Plenty of draws there too.

From memory:

15/16 - D 1-1
16/17 - D 1-1
17/18 - L 1-2
18/19 - D 0-0
19/20 - D 1-1
20/21 - W 4-2
21/22 - W 5-0
22/23 - L 1-2

Also played there three times in cup games. Drew 1-1 in the Europa and lost 3-2 and 4-3 in the FA Cup.

[JJ Red]

I think Bradley has started to look a little tired recently (which is understandable).

I'd go Gomez at RB and Robbo at LB.

Hope Konate is 100%.

[William Regal]

Some interesting revisionist theory in here claiming Mac Allister has been outstanding as a 6, that's complete nonsense, he was very ropey in that position from the start of the season, right until he picked up that injury (think it was sheff utd away). I never blamed him for that because he was obviously playing in a position as a lone 6 that wasnt his best position, helping the team out and doing his best but we were very susceptible to counter attacks ((partly to how the other midfielders played as well) and Mac Allister seemed on the edge of getting sent of quite a bit in this role.

I'm not sure when Mac Allister came back (might have been Bournemouth away) but he has been absolutely outstanding since this point (strong Liverpool player of the year candidate).  He played a few games as a 6 from this point and looked far better as the 6 than he was at the start of the season and since moving to a 8 he looks world class.  He looks at a point now where he could play to a high level both as a 6 and an 8.

Endo has been brilliant since he came in, if I'm not mistaken we haven't lost a league game hes started, with a huge win percentage and a excellent defensive record in the process.  To me it makes sense to play both on sunday, Endo is our best defensive midfielder imo, and Mac Allister is our best number 8 but can also contribute defensively to track Fernandes and Mctominay who is Man Utds top scorer.

After saying all that I believe it is Szoboszlai who will win this game for us, getting in behind utds back four and driving up the pitch 30 yards to the 18 yard box.  He did that so many times in the FA Cup tie but his end product to make the assist and shoot was not there, I believe it will be this time.

[HardworkDedication]

Liverpool are hopeful of having Wataru Endo available again when they travel to Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

PUBLISHED 7 HOURS AGO
By Chris Shaw

The Japan captain sat out the midweek 3-1 win over Sheffield United having sustained a knock in the preceding fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Speaking immediately after the defeat of the Blades at Anfield, manager Jürgen Klopp revealed Endo is on course to return in time for Old Trafford.

“That’s my information [that he will be fit],” said the boss. “We rested him today. We had a feeling there could have been a chance for tonight but if we leave him out then there is a big chance for Sunday. I hope that didn’t change.”

Klopp also reported it appeared the Reds came through their latest outing, which took them back to the top of the division, without any fresh fitness concerns.

“Nobody got injured already as far as I know today,” he said. “So recovery started already and now we recover and go again.”

The game with United does, however, come too soon for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic, Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota, with that quartet due to resume parts of team training next week.

Liverpool will also continue to be without Thiago Alcantara, Ben Doak and Joel Matip.

https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/manchester-united-v-liverpool-team-news-0

[SamLad]

I think Bradley has started to look a little tired recently (which is understandable).

I'd go Gomez at RB and Robbo at LB.

I agree. Both Joe and Conor have put a lot of mileage in their legs this season.

 I'd start Joe with Conor off the bench in the 2nd half.

[Redley]

I agree. Both Joe and Conor have put a lot of mileage in their legs this season.

 I'd start Joe with Conor off the bench in the 2nd half.

The only defender who has played less than Bradley is Matip

[SamLad]

The only defender who has played less than Bradley is Matip

Interesting. But Conor has played a lot for his age, as a first team starter. I'd be happy to see him get a bit of a break right now.
 

[hide5seek]

This is Utd's cup final.
They'll be all out to stop us winning. We need to take our chances, particularly the first 20/30mins and put this one to bed. Don't just silent their support, get it to feck off home early.

[classycarra]

The only defender who has played less than Bradley is Matip

what's the relevance of him not playing in October? do it again but instead start it from 6 weeks ago, and you'd imagine he'd be near the top - posibly even witohut adding in the two international games.

Some interesting revisionist theory in here claiming Mac Allister has been outstanding as a 6, that's complete nonsense,...snip

the revisionism is from you - odd timing too, to suggest that we don't have any issues defending counters since the "brilliant" Endo took over from the "ropey" Mac. if we had issues at the start of the season, then by your own label we must still have them given some of the recent goals conceded (including against the next opposition)

You're obsessed with win percentages - seem to remember around this time last year you were telling us Henderson was a must start and vital to any success we had because he held the midfield together and favourable win percentages. I guess there's no once bitten twice shy?