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29 min: Now Liverpool attempt to wrest back control. They pass it rather than push on. The word from a man in the stands is that Nunez is struggling after falling on his shoulder.
27 min: And now Luke Shaw sends Rashford away, only for the golden boy’s golden touch to desert him. United suddenly look as if they fancy this.
26 min: The best chance so far. Diogo Dalot whips the ball, Beckham-style, and Bruno Fernandes, off the left, heads wide. Erik ten Hag agonises on the touchline.
25 min: Another shaky Casemiro touch, just when United seemed to be making incursions. Neither team is capable of keeping the ball. Liverpool have Nunez, United have Antony as their leading conceders.
23 min: Martinez clears when a Robertson ball is arrowing towards Nunez. The pair of them have a discussion that is heated but cordial. One to watch. Both players are combustible.
21 min: Rashford forces a corner, sent clear by Casemiro and Weghorst and Van Dijk has to sweep up. The Dutchman is annoyed. And so is the Kop choir when United take ages over the corner. It’s taken short, and when it goes to Fred, all chance of a shot on goal is lost. A waste of time but maybe that’s the United plan right now.
19 min: A Nunez lash at United’s goal – wide – but he did so from an offside position.
18 min: The Allez Allez Allez songs begin. The Kop sounds a bit more confident. Salah meanwhile drops back and gets two kicks, one off Fred, the next off Antony. Feels like Salah is trying to make something happen for his team by pulling United players with him.
16 min: Casemiro watch: he’s still slower than usual, and keeps giving the ball away. Meanwhile, it’s left to Fred to annoy Liverpool, engaging Nunez over in a squabble over a free-kick. Then, as the ball goes into the area, Liverpool can’t seem to get a clean hit on the ball, lots of looping and shanking of the ball. United seem determined to slow this one down to a clogfest.
14 min: Liverpool’s early impetus slowed – for now. United attempt to build patiently but Antony, as he is wont to do, loses the ball. Salah, suddenly, finds space and then with his left hoiks the ball wide and high.
12 min: Casemiro’s gait is certainly ungainly, even more so than usual. Antony is dropping into midfield to help out, as is Weghorst.
10 min: Ten Hag is reaching for his notebook and four-colour pen. As he does, Antony has his first shot of the game, United’s first. The usual, left-footed from the right, and Alisson palms out. Still, United have territory. And problems, too. Casemiro is limping, and so is Rashford after being smashed into the advertising boards.
8 min: United holding their shape and forcing the ball backwards. Casemiro, the main man, has not been much on the ball at all. Fred has been doing the sweeping up so far. Liverpool’s energy has been the key facet so far.
7 min: The atmosphere is not quite a white hot as days of yore. But it lifts when Dalot concedes a corner from Robertson’s gallop down the left. There follows some shoving before the ball is hacked clear. Liverpool are looking to make a fast start.
5 min: United free-kick in midfield, smashed into the box and Alisson claims, before rolling the ball out. Fred comes across to stop Salah having a clear sight on goal. United then deliberate over a goal-kick to boos and jeers.
3 min: Alisson gets the ball launched, and there’s a head tennis session. Liverpool with the early impetus and a roar as Salah’s shot is blocked. There’s jeers as Alexander-Arnold makes a mess of the second ball.
2 min: Liverpool free-kick, awarded after Fred takes down Elliot, and it’s cleared with ease, not beating the first man.
1 min: And away we go at Anfield. Formation news, with Rashford playing centrally and Wout Weghorst at number 10. Bruno Fernandes is sat on Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The teams are out, and the Premier League anthem is rattling around the Anfield rafters. Here comes You’ll Never Walk Alone. Warm embrace and big smiles between Ten Hag and Klopp. Like long lost brothers. Ten Hag takes to the dugout and the smile has gone, and it’s the same for Jürg.
FSG Out, Klopp In – Enough Is Enough.
The fans have spoken, or at least those fans who clubbed together to hire a Cessna plane.
A stat, via our friends at the BBC: “This is the fifth time this season that Fabinho, Harvey Elliott and Jordan Henderson have all started together for Liverpool - in the previous four, the Reds have won all four matches, scored 21 goals and only conceded twice.”
So, Jürgen knows? And so does Souness?
Tom Stratford on Edgar Davids and Spurs? Who else didn’t remember that?: “Hey John, likewise remember Egdar Davids saving Barça from the ignominy of a midtable finish that time. I was then subsequently disappointed when he joined Spurs and we weren’t similarly transformed into the best team in the world overnight. But he did boot Arsenal favourite Ray Parlour up in the air two minutes into his debut against Middlesborough, which is something to cling to I guess… enjoy the game!”
Some pre-match thoughts from Jürgen Klopp, speaking to Sky Sports.
Play good is helpful. Be aggressive, but not overly. Be compact, be wild in moments, be brave - these kinds of things. It is a derby but sometimes we know the emotions can get the best out of us or the other way round. It is all about how good we defend and how good we attack.
A mix of experience and the football part which Harvey Elliott brings - he played really well against Wolves, setting a new record for counter-pressing situations.
Pre-match thoughts from the readers:
Joe Pearson: “What worries me today is Rashford barrelling down the left against Alexander-Arnold. I just hope Rashford doesn’t channel his inner Vinicius Junior this afternoon.”
Mike MacKenzie: “I’m worried with both Fabinho & Henderson in midfield. I’d have picked Bajcetic instead of either of them. But I’m just a dolt in Canada.”
Jeff Sax: “The best chance for a long time for MU to win.”
This is the era of hot takes in Our League, and who could deny Graeme Souness his right to make this piping-hot prediction? Roy Keane and Gary Neville could be smirking on the other side of their faces come full-time.
🗣️ “I fully expect them [Liverpool] to turn up today, it’s a long time since I’ve been this confident about a Liverpool win against [Manchester] United.”
Graeme Souness is backing a Liverpool victory today. 💪 pic.twitter.com/O8zm9apXBa
Ian Copestake has been in touch: “The nature of much that has been written about this game seems to have turned it into a symbol rather than a physical event. Them overtaking us, the old ways dying, can a new spring occur? Klopp even calls it a derby, which it isn’t. But it is ‘like’ a derby and so may as well be called one.”
Will Unwin on Casemiro, a player who must be seen as the signing of the season, unless you prefer the shock and awe of Erling Haaland.
“When you go to recruitment in the summer, we were looking for players with character, with personality,” Ten Hag says. “It was not only about signing players. A lot of players in the world have great skills from a technical approach, or they can run really fast, but we were looking for players who have character, who have personality, who have leadership, take responsibility, who are resilient. That is the type of players I was looking for after I analysed the squad.”
Casemiro’s arrival and impact reminds of when Edgar Davids played half a season for Barcelona in 2004, and suddenly they became the world’s best team. Or, for older readers, Bobby Collins joining Leeds in the early 1960s and making them into the Leeds United the world came to know. He may not burn for long, but he has burned bright. Not, of course, that he needs to be pensioned off in any sense.
Jonathan Liew examined a rivalry of two clubs more alike than their fans might like to admit. Though perhaps they all realise that by now.
The investment in Ten Hag’s side has been not simply in terms of money but time and patience. The backroom structure has slowly been filled out after years of neglect. There is now an established playing style, something United have arguably not enjoyed since Louis van Gaal. Naturally, there are no long-term guarantees. But United are at least trying to construct a coherent identity, to build a functioning organisation, to be – in other words – a little more like Liverpool.
For Manchester United, that’s the same team that started and won last week’s Carabao Cup final, and for Liverpool there’s three changes from the midweek defeat of Wolves. Jordan Henderson, Cody Gakpo and Andrew Robertson are those to come in. No Stefan Bajcetic in midfield, with Harvey Elliott’s energy instead trusted over the young Spaniard’s poise. Such has been Bajectic’s impact that’s a surprise selection. Bobby Firmino, for the off this summer, is on the bench.
Here are the teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Elliott, Fabinho, Henderson, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo. Subs: Kelleher, Milner, Firmino, Jones, Carvalho, Matip, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Jota
Manchester United: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes, Weghorst, Rashford, Antony. Subs: Heaton, Maguire, Malacia, Sabitzer, Sancho, Wan Bissaka, Elanga, McTominay, Garnacho
Jonathan Wilson’s Observer column today focuses on Jurgen Klopp.
The danger for a managerial great is to hang on because there is such a faith in his abilities: he was the messiah once and he can be again. But cults of personality are dangerous: blind allegiance to a manager obscures the other factors that make a successful club. And managers themselves are not constant. The tendency is to self-parody, in late career to ask not what the most effective solution might be but to attempt the most characteristic.
When last they met, Erik ten Hag got his first ever win as Manchester United manager.
And he did so after dropping Cristiano Ronaldo, a decision that would forebear the binning of the former legend turned millstone by Ten Hag. He’s been speaking about that this weekend.
I do consider big decisions like that, definitely. I have to look at the impact they make, not only in the short term but also for the longer term. You always have to think strategically as a manager and face the consequences. I am aware of it but that is my job and my responsibility.
I had reasons to choose that team against Liverpool. They were obvious. And I knew the reaction if it had been a negative outcome, which is always possible in football.
But I am not worrying. I sleep well also in those nights. I have to take the decisions in respect of the club and the team. I have to stand by those decisions.
From Jürgen Klopp’s programme notes for this game.
As things stand, this season has been a better one for them [United] but there is still time and opportunity to improve things for ourselves.
The last four games we have played in the Premier League have shown that we definitely have the appetite to do this and I could not be happier with the way the players have accepted the challenge ahead of them. When we lost to Wolves a month ago, we received a lot of criticism and much of it was deserved. We are always our own biggest critics but the best thing is that we always have the chance to put things right for ourselves.
That this has started to happen in the games that I have mentioned is a real positive but it does not happen without everyone being ready to get through a tough period together.
This is a message that I have used repeatedly because it is one of the most important I know. Together we have a chance. Together we can deal with problems and come up with solutions. Together we can find a way to be better. And the great thing about this club is that it is built on togetherness, especially at times that are not so good.
Important announcement before this game. This nonsense has to stop. It’s time everyone grew up.
Ten Hag said: “The rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool is one of the greatest in world football. We all love the passion of the fans when our teams meet, but there are lines that should not be crossed.
“It is unacceptable to use the loss of life – in relation to any tragedy – to score points, and it is time for it to stop. Those responsible tarnish not only the reputation of our clubs but also, importantly, the reputation of themselves, the fans, and our great cities. On behalf of myself, our players, and our staff, we ask our fans to focus on supporting the team on Sunday, and representing our club in the right way.”
Klopp added: “One of the main reasons why the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United is so special is that it is so intense and no one should ever want to change this. But at the same time when the rivalry becomes too intense it can go to places that are not good for anyone and we do not need this.
Preamble
Here we go, here we go, here we go….this is it. Let’s be honest here, this fixture between the trademarked two biggest clubs in England, and certainly the most successful, can often be an absolute dog. Form doesn’t so much go out the window as forget itself as the tranqs kick in. At least there is plenty at stake here, with Liverpool’s eyes focused on the top four, and thankful to Wolves for yesterday’s win over Tottenham.
United’s chance of a title is slim, especially if the top two keep winning but keeping Liverpool down in the Europa League/Conference League would meet the approval of fans, and also affect the summer transfer plans of a club who would really like someone like Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham to add quality to their midfield. It was only a few weeks ago that Cody Gakpo chose Anfield over Old Trafford, a decision that has not looked the best choice so far. Still, should Liverpool win this, then they can begin to look upwards and to a future brighter than what has been such a poor season for them.
For United, a quadruple is on, though their eternal rivals are this season showing the problems of fighting on so many fronts.
Kick-off is 4.30pm. Join me.
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