5 ways Liverpool can beat Manchester United over the weekend

On Saturday, the 14th of October, Liverpool will play host to their age-old rivals Manchester United at Anfield. Both teams, despite going into the new season in buoyant mood, have enjoyed contrasting starts to the campaign.

Liverpool's failure to sign a centre-back in the summer has come back to bite them. A number of the goals they have conceded this season have come due to needless defensive errors made by the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan.

The Reds have already been humbled by a Manchester side this season, when City battered them with a 5-0 scoreline, and they will be hoping that the game on Saturday does not end up in a similar fashion.

Manchester United, despite not enjoying the best of times at Anfield in the past few seasons, go into this game as favourites. Manager Jose Mourinho addressed the need of a striker and holding midfielder when he recruited Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic in the summer.

The two new signings have settled in seamlessly in the United setup, and have already established themselves as key components in the first team. With Anthony Martial currently at the top of his game and David de Gea's splendid form this season, it's hard to look past a win for the Red Devils this weekend.

However, if history is an indicator, Liverpool have particularly flourished in fixtures against the stronger sides in the recent past and picked up the most points in the top-six mini-league last season. With the odds firmly stacked against them, we take a look at five ways they can beat United this weekend.

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#1 Playing a deeper line

Lovren and Matip will have to be at the top of their game if Liverpool are to win the game

It's no secret that Liverpool have considerably struggled on the defensive end this season. Seven games into the Premier League campaign and manager Jurgen Klopp is still uncertain of what his best centre-back pairing is.

Joel Matip seems to be his number one central defender at the moment, but the Cameroonian is far from the standards Liverpool need, if they are to mount a realistic title challenge.

He has been criticised for lapses in concentration and needlessly squandering possession, but his errors have been few and far in between when compared to Klavan and particularly Lovren.

In their last league game before the international break, Liverpool were dominating the game with a one-goal lead before Newcastle found an easy route back into the game at St James' Park.

When it seemed like the Reds were ready to kick into second gear and add to their cushion, they were pegged back as Toons striker Joselu grabbed a goal for the hosts against the run of play.

There was a hint of fortune in the former Stoke man finding the back of the net, but Liverpool should have never found themselves in such a compromising position. Due to their high line and lack of coordination among Lovren and Matip, they failed to deal with a long ball played by Jonjo Shelvey.

This is not the first instance that the defenders have struggled while dealing with aerial balls. Knowing Jose Mourinho, he is going to adopt a route one approach and ask his defenders to launch the ball straight into the strides of Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku.

The two agile attackers have a considerable size and pace advantage over the Liverpool centre-backs, and if not dealt with correctly, could run rings around them. Thus, it is essential for Klopp to counter this threat United are likely to pose, by playing a deeper line, eliminating the option of going route one.

#2 Exploiting the flanks

Despite missing three games, Mane has still been one of Liverpool's best players this season

In his arsenal, Jurgen Klopp possesses some of the league's fastest and most robust players. The likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have given many a defence nightmares this season because of their agility and mobility.

Unless something catastrophic occurs, the two are expected to start on the wings for Liverpool. Mane and Salah are likely to come up against Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young, who are two wingers converted into full backs.

While Valencia has been playing as a right back for a number of seasons on a consistent basis, Young has barely been a part of the first-team setup due to his injury woes. The Englishman is also not the fastest of players, nor is he particularly sharp when it comes to dealing with one-on-ones.

Mane, on the other flank, could look to combine with Coutinho and make runs beyond Valencia - who is likely to be ordered to stick with him at every possible occasion.

The Senegalese is arguably faster and more industrious than the Ecuadorian, and he could cause the United right back a problem or two, if he is complemented by his teammates in the final third.

#3 Starting Robertson over Moreno

Moreno has started in all but two league games this campaign

When Klopp took over the reins in 2015, he was unhappy with what he saw of Alberto Moreno, and it seemed like the Spaniard had no future at the club. Things went from bad to worse when James Milner was played as a left-back for the entirety of last season, restricting Moreno to a meagre two league starts.

This summer, Liverpool signed Andrew Robertson from Hull City, and it was expected that the Scotland international would walk straight into the starting eleven. However, due to Moreno's impressive pre-season, he has been Klopp's go-to man on the left side of defence, starting in five of the Reds' seven league games.

While it can be argued that Moreno has done a decent job, Robertson provides more of an offensive threat for Liverpool and was also named man of the match on his league debut for the club against Crystal Palace.

The former Hull City defender is an exceptional crosser of the ball and his positional awareness makes him a force to be reckoned with. Still to be tested against bigger opposition, the time may be right for Klopp to take a gamble and start the 23-year-old against United.

Robertson is exceptional at overlapping the wingers and is also capable of playing as an auxiliary wide man if the situation demands. He was signed because of his versatility and adaptability, and only needs one good game against a top side to cement his place in the Liverpool starting eleven.

#4 Taking advantage of Pogba and Fellaini's absence

Herrera is expected to start in the stead of Pogba and Fellaini

Manchester United's good performances this season have to be attributed to the solidity their midfielders have provided. While Matic has done a phenomenal job at shielding the back four and distributing possession, Paul Pogba has been involved in creating chances for the attackers and also finding the back of the net himself on occasion.

However, due to a hamstring injury, he will play no part in the weekend game against Liverpool. Another player set to miss out will be Pogba's replacement - Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian midfielder has gone on from being a scapegoat to a saviour for Mourinho's side in the absence of Pogba, but injury has ruled him out of the game as well.

This will see Mourinho turning to Ander Herrera - a player that has started in a solitary league game this season. The 28-year-old isn't used to playing alongside Matic, and their lack of chemistry in the middle of the park could see Klopp's men take advantage of it.

Emre Can could be given the job to man mark the Spaniard in a similar way Herrera dealt with Eden Hazard in United's 2-0 win over Chelsea last season. Herrera is expected to be the Red Devils' ball carrier, and stopping him could nullify United's threat from the middle.

#5 Working on their shot accuracy

Firmino will be in line to start against United on Saturday

Much like the Manchester United of last season, Liverpool have struggled in front of goal in the 2017/18 campaign. With Roberto Firmino struggling to apply the finishing touches and Daniel Sturridge failing to make the first team berth his own, Klopp has had a tough time getting the best out of his attackers.

In Liverpool's last game against Newcastle, they amassed an impressive 17 attempts on goal. However, only two of them found the target, of which one crept into the back of the net. Similarly, against Leicester, the Reds had a total of 23 chances, but only tested Kasper Schmeichel on six occasions.

Thus, there seem to be issues at both ends of the field for Liverpool, and if they are to come away with a positive result, they will need to put in a lot of effort on the training ground and work on certain aspects of their game.

Klopp is known to bring the best out of his players, and the Reds' faithful fans will be hoping for the same on Saturday.