There are some truly great rivalries in sport today. Collingwood and Carlton, Yankees and the Red Sox, Lakers and Celtics, Real Madrid and Barcelona. They’re a part of what makes sport great. The added emotion that such encounters creates for fans often fuel some of the most memorable, epic contests. Yet there are few rivalries quite like Manchester United and Liverpool. A rivalry bred on location and stoked by the widely enjoyed success by both teams, it really does get the blood pumping and the hatred flowing between the two clans. As they prepare to meet in the early hours of Monday morning, we look ahead to another colossal encounter.
Sir Alex Ferguson is closer than ever to his now-famous mission of “knocking Liverpool off their f**king perch.” A win at Anfield on Sunday, would put United back into the drivers seat in the chase for their nineteenth Premier League crown. A historic title that would send them above Liverpool for the most League Titles in history. After having cruised through almost two-thirds of the season, United seemed destined to romp to another title. Yet after two defeats in their last four outings – including a staggering debacle against lowly Wolverhampton – has thrown the title race wide open. So much so that a United loss, coupled with an Arsenal triumph against Sunderland, would see their lead cut to just one point at the summit.
Meanwhile Liverpool have endured a season that they’d much rather forget. With any chance of Premier League glory vanquished in the league’s opening months, any ambitions of silverware this season were put on hold. After a humbling 3-1 loss at the hands of relegation favorites West Ham last week, any realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season also vanished. Suffering a defeat to their bitter rivals would be hard enough for the die-hard Liverpool fans to swallow, let alone the title implications the result could have, a loss would devastate those in red.
Injuries and suspensions look likely to play a heavy role in United’s team selection for the encounter. With captain Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Park Ji-Sung, Anderson, Antonio Valencia and Owen Hargreaves all ruled out, United’s option are slim. Michael Owen and Patrice Evra are both also in doubt, yet should be ready come kick-off time.
Contrastingly, Liverpool has almost a full strength squad to choose from. Martin Kelly is out after tweaking his hamstring in the loss at West Ham, and 56-Million Dollar Striker Andy Carroll likely being reduced to a spot on the bench. He’s still yet to make his debut for the club, since signing in the wake of Fernando Torres’s departure to Chelsea in January.
KEY POINTS
- In the last 21 meetings between the sides, only one has ended in a draw.
- Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has scored 3 goals in his last 3 matches against Manchester United
- Manchester United have won 8 of their past 9 games when coming off a defeat. They were beaten 2-1 at Chelsea last weekend.
- Liverpool is unbeaten at home against teams in the top half this year.
PREDICTION
Another typically hard fought, physical encounter between these two great rivals, with United coming out on top when it’s all said and done.
Liverpool 1 – Manchester United 3
No comments:
Post a Comment