Man Utd v Liverpool Preview and Betting Tip

The narrative around this game has changed since the original fixture was postponed due to fan protests. Man Utd’s loss to Leicester on Tuesday confirmed Man City as Champions. It also had the knock on effect of making Liverpool’s task of reaching the Top 4 an awful lot harder. This is now a must win game for Klopp’s side. For Utd, it is all about pride and locking up 2nd place. Will Ole’s men put the final nail in Liverpool’s Top 4 hopes? Or can the Merseysiders keep their faint Champions League hopes alive? Man Utd v Liverpool kicks off at 8.15pm on Thursday night, check out our preview and betting tip below.

Fixture Pile Up For Utd

As we move into the final stages of the season, fixtures have piled up for Manchester United. Thanks to this rearranged match, Utd have had to play 4 games in a week and 3 in the last 5 days. That run included the second leg of their Europa League semi final in Rome and on Tuesday night vs Leicester, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to rotate 10 of the 11 players who started in Sunday’s win vs Aston Villa.

Bailly, Tuanzebe, Williams, Telles, Van De Beek, Matic, Mata, Amad and Elanga all played against Leicester. None of those players would feature in Utd’s strongest 11 and they did well enough in the circumstances to only lose 2-1. Bruno played for 15 minutes while Rashford and Cavani came on for the last half hour so those three players should come back into the team on Thursday night.

The biggest worry for Utd is the absence of Maguire at centre-back. He has taken plenty of stick from some quarters but he has been ever present in the Premier League and he has played a big part in the improvement at Man Utd this season. Bailly could start in his place and he is prone to making the odd rash decision. It is hard to see Utd keeping a clean sheet here, but with Bruno, Cavani, Greenwood, Pogba and Rashford they are capable of causing lots of problems for the visitors’ defence.

Top 4 Hopes On The Line For Liverpool

So the 2020/21 season comes down to this for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. They currently sit 6th with 57 points, 7 points behind Chelsea who have played one game more and 9 points behind Leicester who have played 2 games more. If Liverpool can win all four remaining matches they can earn a maximum of 69 points. If Leicester can win one more match or if Chelsea take 5 points from their last three fixtures, even four wins may not be enough for Liverpool depending on goal difference.

All The Reds can do is keep up their end of the bargain and hope that either Leicester or Chelsea fluff their lines. Those draws against Leeds and Newcastle are beginning to look extremely costly now but they at least gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a 2-0 win last time vs Southampton. Mane and Thiago got the goals but Liverpool’s defence looked shaky again. They had to rely on a couple of crucial Alisson saves to keep their clean sheet.

With Maguire out, Klopp will be hoping that his team can take full advantage of his absence. Mane has rediscovered his goalscoring touch to some degree in the last couple of weeks and Salah is always a threat. Jota has not pulled up many trees since returning from injury and it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if Firmino got the nod ahead of him. Liverpool fans will be hoping that their fabled front three can finally hit top form and get the goals required to help keep their Top 4 hopes alive.

Man Utd v Liverpool H2H

As the head to head results show, there hasn’t been very much at all between these North West rivals in recent meetings. Three of the last five games have finished level, with two of them finishing scoreless. Man Utd came out on top when they last met in the FA Cup back in January. Their last Premier League meeting at Anfield was a stinker of a goalless draw. Hopefully we get to see a bit more goalmouth action in this renewal of hostilities.       

Man Utd v Liverpool Betting Tip

My original tip for the postponed match was Utd to come from behind and win. Of course, they did exactly that in their next match vs Villa but I am veering more towards a draw today. Three of the last four meetings between these two teams have finished level. Liverpool have drawn 2 of their last 3 and 9 overall, while too many draws (10) have arguably cost Utd a proper title challenge this season.

Neither team looks watertight defensively and both have plenty of attacking quality on the pitch. Liverpool will be highly motivated to get the win, but Utd would take plenty of pleasure from further denting their opponent’s Top 4 hopes. I think a (hopefully exciting) score draw could be on the cards at Old Trafford on Thursday night. Back the draw and both teams to score at odds of 7/2 with BetVictor.  

Man Utd v Liverpool Tips: Draw/both teams to score @ 7/2 BetVictor

Key Quotes – Man Utd v Liverpool

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – “There will be changes of course but many of the players that played tonight did really well, so they are in contention. It is about managing the squad now, building momentum, building confidence, making sure we get enough points to get second and making sure we go into the final with confidence.”

Jurgen Klopp – “Our plan was to win all the games, so we won’t change that. Do we have to take more risks when it’s a draw? Possible but not planned now. If you play a game and think only about attacking, you have lost before the first whistle.”

Dave Stevos