Liverpool and Manchester United are going to face each other at Anfield in today’s (6 March 2011) ‘Super Sunday’ clash. Other than derbies, they are perhaps the fiercest rivals of English football. Both sides have something to achieve from this game, even though they have two different goals this season with Manchester United looking to retain the title and Liverpool aiming to grab a Europa Cup place.
Manchester Unite would go into the match on the back of a 2-1 loss at Chelsea and they will be without two of their first choice center backs: Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Ferdinand is injured, while Vidic is suspended following his sent off at StamfordBridge. So, manager Sir Alex Ferguson has to choose between Wes Brown and Jonny Evans to pair with Chris Smalling.
It is expected that Liverpool’s £35 million striker Andy Carroll would have his Reds debut today. He joined Liverpool in winter from Newcastle United for a British record fee. No doubt, his advantage in the air would be a threat for the weak United defense line.
League leader Manchester United knows that they can not afford another slip-up following the latest defeat at Chelsea. They are fortunate that second placed Arsenal drew with Sunderland last night, and thus, losing their chance to close the gap at the top. So, Ferguson boys would like to strengthen their position at the top with a victory over their Kenny Dalglish’s boys.
Victory over Manchester United is always considered as morale booster at Liverpool. This time, the Merseyside club has something else too to play for: clinching a place in the Europa Cup. Liverpool is currently at the 7th position with 39 points from 28 matches and they are 8 points behind 5th placed Tottenham Hotspurs who has a game in hand. Naturally, a win over Manchester United would not only boost up their confidence level but also take them closer to their goal.
Overall, Manchester United still looks favorite considering the recent form of the two sides. However, Liverpool is playing at home and they always get extra motivation while facing the Red Devils. So, football fans can expect an entertaining match today.
Liverpool is going through some tough time at the moment and they would certainly try their best to strength the squad for the second half of the season. Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been linked with a move to the Merseyside club. Erik Huseklepp ofBrann could also move to Liverpool in January, even though Wigan Athletic and HullCity are also in the race to secure his service. Manager Rafael Benitez is also interested to buy the experienced Emile Heskey. Aiden McGeady of Celtic, Luca Toni of Bayern, Eljero Elia of Hamburg and Arda Turan of Galatasaray are also linked with a move to Liverpool.
Manchester United has been going smoothly, except some hiccups, since the departure of Ronaldo, but it is not yet certain that they are going to spend heavily in January. They would definitely have their own share of deals in January. In fact, the club has reportedly been linked with a number of players so far. Nani could leave Old Trafford, if any clubs make realistic bid for the winger. Benfica winger Angel di María could be his possible replacement.
Liverpool hosts Manchester United in a ‘big four’ match on Sunday (25 October 2009) at Anfield. It is a do-or-die game for the reds who are currently left in the 8th position of the league point table after losing 4 out of their 9 premier league games so far this season. To add insult to injury, Liverpool suffered a humiliating 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais in a group stage match of Champions League last week. Naturally, Liverpool looks short of confidence ahead of the Manchester United encounter. With 22 points from 9 games, Manchester United is currently leading the point table and has a 7 point advantage over their fiercest rivals Liverpool at this moment. Manchester United has been in good form, even though they did not have a very good start to the season.
Match: Liverpool vs Manchester United; English Premier League 2009-10
Date: 25 October 2009
Venue: Anfield
Time: 14:00 BST; 14:00 GMT
The defeat against Lyon has taken a toll on Liverpool’s confidence level ahead of the home fixture against the Ferguson boys, but the Reds are now gearing up to make a strong come back on Sunday. Knowing that a victory over Manchester United would not only ensure three points, but also boost up their confidence level, Liverpool players seem determined to give their best against the defending champions.
However, the Red Devils are also gearing up to take a sweet revenge of last season’s humiliating 4-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture last season. They may have been in good form now, but the way they started the season was not very promising. Sir Alex Ferguson has guided United to win the premier league title for the last three seasons and the Red Devils are on the right track to win the title this season too.
Liverpool has not won premier league title for the last 20 years and they are now desperate to end their title drought this season. However, the way they are going it seems that Liverpool may not achieve their much-awaited premier league title this season. They can not afford another defeat in the title run. They are already 7-point behind leader Manchester United.
Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher has said that it would be a huge boost for Liverpool, if they can defeat United. He admits that the club is going through a rough patch at the moment and he is confidence of making a strong come back.
“Beating United could be just the boost we need. We always bounce back because that’s what we are about,” he said.
“We’re going through a tough patch but we’ve been through them before and we’ll bounce back, there’s no doubt about that.
“It’s always a great game against United, and that could be what we need. If we win, it’ll give everyone a massive lift.”
Liverpool is also facing many injury problems. For example, the All Reds could miss two of their key players: Steve Gerrard and Fernando Torres- who are currently out injured. Torres could feature, but Gerrard would definitely miss the game. There are some other injury concerns at Liverpool camp. Glen Johnson missed last week’s Champions League defeat to Lyon, but he is confident of his full recovery to feature against United.
The Reds also lost midfielder Steve Gerrard against Lyon after just 25 minutes with a suspected recurrence of a groin injury which has added to Benitez's casualty list.
Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson both missed Tuesday night's game with groin injuries while winger Albert Riera is also in need of a scan on his hamstring and Martin Kelly's impressive full debut was ruined by an ankle injury.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that it would be a huge match and he does not want to take Liverpool’s recent form into consideration. Rather, Ferguson wants to keep his focus on United’s performance. Moreover, he does not want to give much thought to last season’s 4-1 defeat at Anfield.
"I'm not interested in Liverpool. I'm only concerned about what we do on Sunday," Ferguson added. "I don't see that we have a point to prove. Different games are shaped by circumstances of games. "You can't look at last season as a barometer of our form or Liverpool's form. Derby games are derby games and anyone can win it."
Wayne Rooney is uncertain for the game, and if he can not recover his injury in time, Michael Owen would pair up with Dimitar Berbatov in United’s attacking line up. Manchester United does not need to worry a lot because they do not have many injury problems. In fact, they have a very strong squad in the presence of some experienced as well as young players. Ferdinand’s recent form may not be very good, but you can not deny that he is one of the best center backs at this moment in the world, while Vidic would like to come strongly in order to erase last season’s bitter memory at Anfield. In the midfield, they have the players like Nani, Giggs, Scholes, Valencia, Park Anderson, and Fletcher.
Liverpool would really miss their influential captain Steven Gerrard who plays an important role in the midfield to create chances. Moreover, if Torres can not play, Liverpool would face a huge problem to form its attacking line up. Kuyt and N’Gog would lead Liverpool attack, while Mascherano and Benayoun would have to play big role in the midfield. I do not think there would be huge change in the back four of Liverpool. Agger and Carragher would spearhead Liverpool defense.
Online Live Score and Updates
Here, I am giving some live score and update websites from where you can get the live score of the match:
Live Score
Goalzz
Sportpress
Goal.com
Manchester United seems to be favorite, but Ferguson boys would make a big mistake if they take the Reds lightly considering Liverpool’s recent poor form. Liverpool will have home advantage, while United would have to face a hostile condition in Anfield. Liverpool looks a bit weak, but they could be full of confident considering the fact that a win over Manchester United would get their title hope back on track again. So, I think, football fans can expect a highly exciting match on Sunday. Now, let us see if they can live up to the expectation of the fans.
