How Important is Manchester United vs Liverpool on Saturday?

A SUDDEN FALL FROM GRACE

Manchester United v Liverpool - Premier League

There has not been a winner in league play between the two sides since January 17, 2016 (LFC did eliminate MUFC from the Europa League two months later). Having said that, the Klopp-Mourinho rivalry has yet to live up to the hype since the two managers joined Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. All three matches thus far have resulted in a draw. More alarming perhaps, there has been a total of two goals scored in those 270 minutes.

Overall, the past four years have been rather unkind by both club’s standards. Manchester United, the undisputed kings of English football so far in the 21st century, have not won the league since 2013. Before that, they had won four of the previous six league crowns. United have won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League in that time span. Most would argue though, the league is what matters the most.

In comparison, Liverpool have not won silverware of any kind since 2012 (League Cup). The club narrowly missed out on winning the 2013-14 Premier League title, which would have been their first since the formation of the league in 1992. The Merseyside Reds finished as runners-up in the Europa League in Jürgen Klopp’s inaugural season (2015-16). Much like their rivals, Liverpool values winning the Premier League above all else.

From 2013-14 through 2016-17 Liverpool finished an average of fifth in the final league table (2, 6, 8, 4). Since their league championship in 2012-13, The Red Devils have actually fared worse with an average league finish of 5.50 during that time (7, 4, 5, 6). This season has been vastly different for both English powers.