This weekend is arguably the biggest derby in English football. That’s right, it is Manchester United taking on Liverpool at Old Trafford. The build up to this one has been strange. Manchester United is coming off one of their worst starts of all time. And the reading doesn’t get much better for Liverpool fans. The Reds have started the season with two draws against opposition you normally wouldn’t expect them to drop points against.
Nevertheless, the hype train rolls on, and it has been a big week for both clubs. For Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp got himself into a war of words with the former player turned pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor. Whilst for United, the Cristiano Ronaldo saga rolls on. Also, United seems to have finally signed a holding midfielder that their squad has been screaming for since Alex Ferguson left.
Manchester United vs Liverpool FYIs
Kickoff: Mon Aug 22, 8pm, Old Trafford
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
Team News: Man United Liverpool
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Liverpool
Details on Planned Supporter Protest: go here
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 60% Draw 21% Man United win 19%
Watch: This is not on TV in the United States, only on a fee required streaming service, and it’s the additional cost, premium version of that service too.
I’ll keep the intro short because the team news is A LOT for Liverpool, Here goes…
TEAM NEWS
The first thing we will touch on is Darwin Nunez. The Reds record signing got himself a straight red card against Fulham, meaning he is suspended for the next three games, starting with this one. It is the last thing Jurgen Klopp and his men needed, considering the injury crisis the club finds themselves in at the moment.
That injury list currently sits at 7 players. Seven players who would usually be in or around the first team squad.
Diogo Jota is still missing with a hamstring injury that has seen him miss the entire pre-season. That has spilled over to the start of the regular season too.
Center backs Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate are both out. Matip is suffering from a groin injury and is unlikely to be available until the beginning of next month. Konate is suffering from a knee injury. The middle of September is a more likely target for his return.
Injury prone Thiago Alcântara is in the treatment room yet again. The gifted, but frail, midfield maestro also has a hamstring complaint. We expect him to be out for a while still. The Chelsea clash in the back half of September tentatively penciled in for his return. Fellow frequenter of the treatment room, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, is out as well. His hamstring injury is the worst of them all and October is when he is expected back in first team training.
Local lad Curtis Jones is on the shelf too. Along with fellow Academy graduate Caoimhin Kelleher. Jones has a calf injury, whilst Kelleher has a groin injury. Both are likely to become available in time for the Merseyside derby at the beginning of next month.
STUEYS TWO CENTS
I made the call on the latest episode of After Extra Time. I think this will be a season of transition for Liverpool. They won’t challenge Manchester City in the same way they have in the past. I don’t think the drop off will be too terrible, but I see them falling back into the pack. This will be a year when Liverpool aim for the top four, as opposed to the title.
I don’t think Manchester United will have a better shot at gaining revenge for last year’s humiliation than this weekend.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He also co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.