Will there be another seven or more? Manchester United hold up, Klopp is afraid of being too confident – Soccernet.ee

This is not a derby! First of all because the derby is played between neighbors. Secondly because the derby requires parity, something that hasn’t been seen in this couple for a long time…

In England, the weekend brings together two teams from the Premier League, whose duels were one of the most anticipated in the not so distant past of the championship. Now it is, but mostly only for one team, especially when playing at Anfield, because Liverpool have already torn Manchester United to pieces at home several times.

There is no other way to describe a situation in which United not only have not won in their last eight games at Anfield, but have scored just one goal and allowed themselves to score 21. Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool were defeated in only four attempts , but there have already been 18 matches. Things have become particularly crazy in recent years, because in May 2021 Liverpool won 4:2 at Old Trafford for the first time and continued the destruction there in October with a score of 5:0. They won 4-0 at home last April and United’s surprise 2-1 win in August proved to be the exception.

In March this year, Liverpool beat their visitors 7-0 at home. It marked their biggest ever win against United, but also the visitors’ biggest league defeat since 1931. So United have a lot to prove, but the timing couldn’t be worse. They lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday and finished bottom of the subgroup, which also means an early end to the European season. Chelsea were defeated in the league last week, but then lost definitively to Bournemouth.

“Are you observing this man’s arrogance?” 👀
“Remember it, you will never forget it” 👀@Carra23 AND @Gnev2 they are already wrapping up early ahead of the Liverpool vs Manchester United match this weekend 😂 pic.twitter.com/i5Nl0IKNsP
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 15, 2023

Furthermore, there is still the problem of absentees. Captain Bruno Fernandes misses the match with five yellow cards and Jadon Sancho remains out of the squad, while long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen are also out through injury, along with Harry Maguire. The participation of Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelöf, as well as the ill Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, is a big question mark.

At the same time, Liverpool were able to rest key players instead, as progress in the Europa League was assured, and they traveled to Belgium with a very young team. Union Saint-Gilloise remained at 2:1, but in the league they have gone from victory to victory so far, even if the picture of the match has not always been the most convincing. However, Klopp also has some concerns: Joel Matip broke his knee badly a week ago and there is no other strongman like Virgil van Dijk in central defense. Andy Robertson, Diogo Jota and Thiago Alcantara are still recovering from injuries, Alexis Mac Allister’s fitness is very doubtful.

Klopp: Results like this are seen once in a lifetime

Even though United are only sixth in the table and 10 points ahead of leaders Liverpool, Klopp doesn’t want to hear that his men are favourites. “When the headlines say United are bad, it means they want to make up for their mistakes. The 7-0 was an extraordinary result, but things like that happen maybe once in a lifetime. And if anyone can take advantage of it, it’s the team that loses,” the German said in the pre-match press conference. “We have to think that we are playing an important match against a historic opponent. I tell the men to give everything, I only want this.”

A joint Man United and Liverpool XI based on this season’s Premier League rankings @WhoScored 😬

Will you make changes? #mufc pic.twitter.com/IKdpYpkQRQ
— Manchester United News (@ManUtdMEN) December 15, 2023

As for Erik ten Hag, there are rumors that his job could be in danger in the event of a serious loss, but the Dutchman is not thinking about his future: “Firstly, I want to win and, secondly, I want to advance the team in the right direction. Last season we succeeded, this year we were unable to satisfy the high demands we set ourselves. We are still at the project stage, but I believe the future is very good. When the injured players return, we will be able to play much better.”

Liverpool are also delighted to have just received permission to use the expanded final stand at Anfield Road. This will allow 7,000 more spectators to attend the match than before, meaning Anfield’s capacity will increase to 57,000.

BREAKING NEWS: Liverpool have received approval from Liverpool City Council to open the top level of Anfield Road for Sunday’s match against Man Utd. An additional 7,000 fans will be present, bringing the capacity to 57,000.

— David Lynch (@dmlynchlfc) December 13, 2023

• Liverpool have won five of their last five head-to-head matches and have scored at least four goals in all their victories.
• United are now eight games without a win at Anfield (three draws and five defeats) and have scored just one goal in those games.
• Liverpool have won all 11 of their home games this season, scoring 35 goals and conceding 7.
• Of the last 49 league matches played at home, only one was lost: in October 2022 Leeds lost 1:2.
• Mohamed Salah has made 12 appearances against United in all competitions and scored 12 goals, scoring in each of the last six matches. He scored 10 goals against United in the Premier League, the same as Alan Shearer and no one else.
• United’s shooting accuracy (7.4%) is the worst in the entire league. They also have the most negative goal-to-goal (xG) ratio, with the Manchester team having scored just 18 goals, while their xG is 25.7.
• This season, in all series, 24 matches were played and 12 were lost. The same number of defeats was recorded in the 62 matches of the previous season.

👀 pic.twitter.com/PgQtJXb9Tv
— Jose Mourinho (@josemourinhotv) December 15, 2023