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Manchester United and Liverpool share arguably the fiercest rivalry of the Premier League era. The two storied rivals will lock horns for the first time in the 2022-23 season on Monday at Old Trafford.
Neither Manchester United nor Liverpool have got off to a good start to the new campaign. Jurgen Klopp's side settled for draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace in their first two games of the season. Meanwhile, the Red Devils have suffered successive losses against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
Liverpool, who are tipped to be contenders for the Premier League title this season, are already four points behind reigning champions Manchester City. The Merseysiders are a much more settled unit than Manchester United and should be overwhelming favorites heading into Monday's match.
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They beat United by a combined scoreline of 9-0 across two fixtures last term. However, it has been anything but smooth sailing for the Merseysiders so far in the new season. That's why Erik Ten Hag's side beating them this time around has become a real possibility.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five reasons why Manchester United could beat Liverpool.
#5 No expectations on Manchester United
Manchester United lost this exact fixture 5-0 last season. Much has changed since that day but United's form has not. They're still pretty ordinary at football and not much is expected from them on Monday after their horrific start to the season.
But that could work in their favor on Monday. By the time the game kicks off, Manchester City could potentially be seven points ahead of Liverpool. The Merseysiders are expected to beat United and there will also be the added pressure of keeping City within sight.
Ten Hag's side will go into the game as underdogs and that lack of pressure could be telling.
#4 No Darwin Nunez
Darwin Nunez's moment of madness against Crystal Palace could come back to haunt Liverpool as they square off against their bitter rivals. Palace defender Joachim Andersen was on the Uruguayan centre-forward's case throughout the game and in the 57th minute, he decided he had had enough.
Nunez headbutted himAndersen and was shown a straight red card. As such, Klopp and co. are effectively walking into Old Trafford without Sadio Mane, one of their primary goalscorers last season, and his replacement.
Roberto Firmino is fit and ready to play, as per Klopp's admission. But the Brazilian is no longer at the peak of his powers nor is he the kind of pacy forward who can keep making runs in behind the sluggish Harry Maguire.
Having struggled to convert their chances against Fulham and Palace, it won't be easy for Liverpool to improve upon those performances in the absence of their striker.
#3 Manchester United can play on the counter
We are all familiar with the fact that even though United want to play out from the back, they are far from being good at it. They are comfortable hitting teams on the counter thanks to the sheer pace they have in their ranks.
Against Liverpool, United won't dominate possession. They will need to sit compactly and look to attack the Merseysiders on the counter. Manchester United saw a lot of the ball in the game against Brentford and it hardly helped them.
#2 Manchester United desperately need to produce a response
Losing all three of their opening fixtures in a Premier League season is almost unthinkable for a club of Manchester United's stature. If that happens, even their fans will find it difficult to deny that it is indeed peak banter era at Old Trafford.
Fans have made no secret of their frustration and anger at the lack of character and desire shown by United players in their humiliating 4-0 loss to Brenford. Ten Hag is not pleased either and several United starters will know that they are in last chance saloon.
A unit of motivated players coming together to produce something special is exactly the manner in which United need to approach a game against a team like Liverpool.
#1 Liverpool's injury problem
In addition to Nunez, who is out suspended, Liverpool will also be without quite a few stars heading into Monday's game. Roberto Firmino is available for selection and Naby Keita has returned to training but is unlikely to start.
They have a long list of injuries. Players like Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Caoimhin Kelleher and Calvin Ramsey are all sidelined.
They are short of options on the bench and are also without some of their main starters. Harvey Elliott is expected to start in midfield while Roberto Firmino will fill in for Nunez. Joe Gomez will partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defense.
