Liverpool vs Manchester United: 3 Key Battles

The two of the most successful clubs from England lock horns again this weekend as Jose Mourinho's Manchester United travel to Anfield on matchday 17. While Liverpool have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, Manchester United are struggling to put together a decent run of form and as a result, they are languishing at sixth place on the table.

Liverpool's front three Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohammad Salah have merged as one of the most lethal strike force across Europe. On the other hand, Manchester United's backline has proven to be the most fragile out of all the top six teams in England. Based on recent form, this may look like a walk in the park for the Reds but one would be doing a mistake if they underestimate Manchester United.

Going into the match, Liverpool are in red-hot form five wins out of their last five matches while Manchester United have managed just one win in the same period. It must be said, however, form matters little in fixtures as big as this one.

Jurgen Klopp in his pre-match conference provided injury update and one glaring miss is sure to be right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold due to an ankle injury. Nathaniel Clyne, who himself is coming back from an injury may step in, Rafa Camacho is another option for the Merseyside club. With, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip also out, Liverpool also have only two senior centre-backs at their disposal.

Jose Mourinho gave a list of a whopping nine first-team players who would be missing out- Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, Scott Mctominay, Diogo Dalot, Matteo Darmian, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw, and Marcos Rojo. The two managers are sure to have a selection headache ahead of Sunday's clash.

With two of the best tactical minds in football on show at Anfield this weekend, the margin for error will be very fine. Not paying attention to fine details can cause the other team to get away with three points. In the larger context of the match, some key battles would be playing out which may have an effect on the result in the clash.

Romelu Lukaku vs Virgil Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren

Romelu Lukaku will be hoping that a good performance at Anfield can turn the season around for him and the team

Romelu Lukaku is no stranger to the Liverpool rivalry. Having played for four seasons with Everton in the Merseyside derby, he knows the atmosphere at Anfield better than anyone. However, the Belgian has not looked his Everton self ever since he joined Manchester United at the start of last season. Becoming a subject of sharp criticism, he needs to have a good a performance against his former Merseyside rivals in order to turn around the season for his team and also for his personal form.

On his day, the 25-year-old is menacing and can trouble the whole of opposition's backline by himself. He will certainly look to exploit chinks in the Liverpool's armour as right back position for the Reds is currently in doubt in terms of participation.

This is because Trent Alexander-Arnold is out and the options are either labouring for match fitness (Clyne), out of position (Milner) or inexperienced (Camacho). Lukaku's game is all about running through the channels and he can certainly exploit the spaces between the centre-back and right-back. The striker is one of the few who can match up to Van Dijk's physicality and is exceptionally quick.

It must be said that he might be isolated for the large part of the game as United will look to play on the counter and he needs to focus on his hold-up play in order so that his fellow teammates can play off him. A motivated Romelu Lukaku can win this match for Manchester United.

The CB's will have to be vigilant against the aerial threat that visitors will pose

Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez have been one of the best centre-back pairings in the league. The same pairing will not take the field as Gomez has been ruled out due to injury which means Dejan Lovren will be Van Dijk's partner.

Liverpool this season have the most amount of clean sheets this season (10) thanks to their formidable defence. With a depleted Manchester United team (both in terms of playing personnel and morale), they have a good chance of adding another one to their clean sheet tally. But they must guard against the aerial threat of Manchester United from Lukaku, Fellaini and Pogba.

Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohammad Salah vs David de Gea

Liverpool's front three have been synonymous with goals in the past couple of years. With Mohammad Salah breaking all goalscoring records, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino breaking ankles of opposition defenders with their dribbling, they have been a big reason for the rise of Liverpool to the summit of the premier league.

The attackers have an almost telepathic understanding of each other's movements and their work off the ball is equally impressive. Manchester United will have to be on their toes so as to not allow them space and minimize their threat.

David De Gea- The messiah of Manchester United

David de Gea will be expected to put in another miraculous performance of saving his team-something which he has been doing for quite some time now. Stupendous saves, aerially commanding and decent on the ball, he might be the only world class player left at Manchester United. The Spaniard should be allowed a free pass even if he has not been his usual excellent self lately.

He would do well to organize his defence commandingly and will have to be vigilant in sweeping off the danger in case someone runs in behind the backline- a feature of Liverpool's attacks. Manchester United's fans will be praying that he can inspire his team to victory on Sunday. It must be said, however, that he can only do so much- the rest of the team also need to step up.

Jordan Henderson vs Paul Pogba

An intriguing midfield battle, to say the least. The Liverpool captain has shunned off all his critics as he continues to a reliable presence at the heart of his team's midfield. Appointed to shield his defence, the Englishman has performed his role as per expectations. After acquiring Fabinho and Keita, it was expected that the midfielder might find playing time hard to come by. That has not happened yet.

He and Wijnaldum will be tasked with keeping Paul Pogba quiet the whole match and snuff out any real opportunity that the visitors might look to create.

Speaking of Paul Pogba, the star continues to get stick from pundits, fans and his coach for not living up to his full capability. The French midfielder has everything in his locker- dribbling, vision, technique, physicality and even end product. Sadly, his consistency is often missing in a stretch of games.

Even though there might be a chance that he starts from the bench, it cannot be ignored that for such a fixture, one cannot leave out a big player especially when no other midfielder brings what the ex-Juventus player can. When on song, he can turn the course match on his own by driving through the opposition defense with no one being able to get near him.

It is said that the character is forged when the going gets tough, the current state of his team is as low as anyone expected. This match represents a chance for him to redeem this season and catapult his team into the top four reckoning- Will the Frenchman step up? Will he lead his team to victory by overcoming the best team in the league so far? We will see on Sunday.

Conclusion and prediction:

Even though the match is tipped heavily in the favor of the hosts, but form matters little in such fixtures. The visitors continue to have top class players at their disposal but they just need to click.

Moreover, you cannot write-off Jose Mourinho, especially in a big match. The Portuguese tactician has caused plenty of upsets in his remarkable career. But he faces his toughest challenge yet. A team low on morale and weak defensively- the most 'non- Jose Mourinho' characteristic that one would associate with his teams.

Sunday also offers a chance for Liverpool to make a statement and march towards their long-awaited first Premier League title since the competition's inception. Jurgen Klopp might be the man to achieve that