Manchester United v Liverpool
The Premier League returns with a bang this weekend after last weekend’s break for the FA Cup. The most anticipated fixture of the season between two of the biggest clubs in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool, will be contested. Both sides finished their FA Cup matches happy with the result after fielding relatively second string teams. Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez add glamour to this fixture, being the league’s first and second top goal scorers respectively.
Liverpool will be eyeing revenge after being robbed by the referee with many incorrect decisions in the first round tie while United will be looking for an improved performance after that fortuitous 2-1 win at Anfield.
Substitute Robin van Persie netted a dramatic injury-time equaliser as Manchester United clung to life in the FA Cup third round by rescuing a 2-2 draw at West Ham last Saturday. Tom Cleverley had given the visitors a 23rd-minute lead at Upton Park, but Joe Cole, making his first West Ham appearance since his return from Liverpool, twice set up James Collins to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. United enter this match top of the league table with 52 points from 21 matches and perhaps most importantly, with a seven-point advantage over nearest title-contending rivals Manchester City. They’ve also gone unbeaten in their past nine league matches, this includes eight victories on English soil and a draw in Wales to Swansea City. Wayne Rooney has been ruled out for a further two weeks after picking up a knee injury over Christmas. In the absence of Rooney, Javier Hernandez, having netted eight goals in 13 matches this season, is set to continue his fruitful partnership with the ever impressive Robin van Persie.
Daniel Sturridge scored on his Liverpool debut and Luis Suarez caused controversy as the seven-time winners beat minor league Mansfield Town 2-1 to reach the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday. Sturridge, who signed from Chelsea, took just seven minutes to open his account on a rutted Mansfield pitch. Suarez, who replaced the England striker in the 55th minute, made it 2-0 after just four minutes on the pitch but the goal triggered accusations of cheating after replays showed the ball had hit his hand. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, however, played down the incident. “There’s no doubt it was handball. Obviously what the referee and officials were looking at was that it wasn’t deliberate, which it clearly wasn’t,” he said. Liverpool travel to Old Trafford after finding some form in the league and have won their last two league games 3-0 against QPR and Sunderland. Suarez is in red hot form this season and scored braces in both of those recent league wins. They are now up to up to eighth spot after their worst start to a season in over 100 years, still 21 points off their opponents. Defender Jose Enrique has been ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring problem and Glen Johnson will be expected to fill in at left back while youngster Andre Wisdom should start in Johnson’s right back position.
Manchester United have won nine of their 10 home matches, with the one blip coming in a loss to Tottenham, while Liverpool have managed just three wins out of 10 matches on the road. However, Liverpool have the better defensive record and have not conceded in three of their last four league fixtures. These sides have drawn just once in the last 17 encounters and the draw is tipped to make a rare appearance in their recent head-to-head stats.
