Liverpool FC may seem, at least on paper, to be far ahead of their arch-rivals Manchester United right now. Certainly the standings reflect that as the Reds are legitimate Premier League title contenders while the Red Devils will be lucky to make top four.
Both sides have certainly had more than their fair share of injuries this season, with United probably suffering more (and bigger) bites from the injury bug in 2023.
Manchester United at Liverpool FC FYIs
Kickoff: Dec. 17, Anfield, 4:30pm
Six Players Who Could Leave United in January: go here
Team News: Man United Liverpool
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Liverpool
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 73% Draw 15% Man United win 12%
PL Form: Man United LWLWW Liverpool WWWDW
PL Standing: Man United 6th, 27 pts Liverpool 1st, 37 pts
But that is no excuse, especially in a rivalry match like this where emotions are always high.
Erik ten Hag has to get a result here, in order to keep United’s season from completely falling off a cliff.
Meanwhile Jurgen Klopp cannot afford to drop any points, if he is to keep his side in Premier League penthouse.
Arsenal and Manchester City are coming for them.
Liverpool FC Starting 11 Prediction vs Manchester United
Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Kostas Tsimikas; Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Dominic Szoboszlai; Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.