This year couldn't have begun easier,
for Liverpool.
A home game against their biggest rivals at one of their lowest points at the start of 2025 is exactly what Arne Slot would've wanted to further stamp their authority on this incredible first season of his at Anfield.
His opposite number Ruben Amorim seems to be struggling in all facets as United face issues on and off the field.
This is the last place he and they would've wanted to go to.
What should we be expecting from United then?
Predicted Lineup
I believe that this is the side that will get hammered.
A suspect Onana in goal, an unsure Maguire, an underperforming Martinez and a returning from illness De Ligt.
Dalot who has gone from player of the season to nigh on shittest of the season, Mazraoui who looks to have been infected by the shit, Mainoo who's not quite at the races and Ugarte who's coming back from suspension.
We do have the shining light of Amad although his last couple of games have been similar to the rest of his teammates, a Bruno Fernandes who always has his inconsistencies and Hojlund who many don't think is good enough to lead the line at United.
They will get chewed up and spat out.
Approach
I do believe that Amorim will still look to implement his style and hope that his players can emulate what they did at Arsenal and City.
How we kept and rotated the ball was quite impressive and was important in keeping both those teams quiet especially in the first half. That gave us a chance in those games but a high-flying Liverpool at Anfield is a different beast entirely.
We all know that they come out of the blocks firing and give the opposition no time to settle. That initial 15 minutes by LFC at home sees them completely envelop the opponent giving them no time to breathe.
And you know how our players can panic under pressure?
Actually, they sometimes panic under no pressure.
I honestly don't know how we approach this game. Not only are Liverpool far better than us, I don't trust our players to go out there and execute the manager's ideas nor do I trust them enough to actually show up.
If we could play with every man behind the ball and two goalkeepers, perhaps we'd have a chance. Hell, we may as well throw Amorim himself in there too.
Let's just not humiliate ourselves.
Form
United are in a relegation fight which the manager said was 'embarrassing'.
We sit 14th in the table but with the chance of moving down to 15th should Palace beat Chelsea. Should we win and other results go our way, United could end the game week in 11th.
Beat Liverpool at Anfield and not even make it into the top half 😐.
We've lost our last three games on the trot, scored none and conceded 7. Our goal difference is also now at -5 but I've no doubt that that could potentially reach double digits after this game.
All of this means we are 7 points ahead of the drop zone and 13 behind Chelsea in 4th. Let's face it, we aren't getting any European football through the league.
On the road, we are also in 14th in the away table. United have just two wins on their travels which came at relegation rivals Southampton and more recently at the Emptihad. Our points total is only 9 in nine matches
Only Everton (6), Brentford (6) and Southampton (5) have scored fewer than our 8 away from home.
True relegation form.
Liverpool
As for these fools, they look set to equal our record of 20 league titles as Slot's side appear unstoppable.
LFC are comfortably at the top of the table with a 6 point gap to Arsenal in 2nd and a game in hand. The Reds have won 14 of their 18 matches whilst drawing three and losing one which weirdly came at home to Forest.
See, it can be done.
However, that is their only loss they've suffered in all competitions this season.
With 45 scored, Liverpool are the highest scorers in the league and with 17 conceded have the joint-best defensive record along with Arsenal.
Their recent record is three wins and two draws in their last five as only Forest have a better recent run than them.
Why can't Forest win the league?
In the home table, LFC top that chart too as they have 22 points from nine game with seven wins, one draw and that one defeat. The 6 they've let in is again, the best along with Arsenal at home.
So Liverpool score a lot of goals and don't concede many whereas United can't score or defend?!
We are so done man. We are so done.
Ruben Amorim was speaking about how poorly United have been starting games. It's well-known that Liverpool start like a house on fire. This is how they set the tone and if United can keep them quiet for the opening 20 minutes, we may have a chance,
of keeping the score down to 5-0 🤣.
But a lot of what those LFC players do depends on their fans.
They also have a lot of players that will cause us problems. The obvious is Mo Salah. The Egyptian is on top of the scoring charts with 17 goals and tops the assists table as well with 13.
30 goals and assists in 19 PL games 😳.
Others to worry about: Cody Gakpo, who has been in fine form; Trent Alexander-Arnold is always a threat and got a goal in his last match; their midfield of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and perhaps their best and most improved player Ryan Gravenberch are all playing superbly.
But the player that I'm concerned about the most is Luis Diaz.
The Colombian has it all for me as he is skillful, can create, score and works so hard on and off the ball.
In five Premier League appearances against United, Diaz has 4 goals and 1 assist with 2 of those strikes coming in the reverse fixture earlier this season as Arne Slot beat fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Against someone like Mazraoui who has dropped off a little in recent weeks, I do worry about us on the right side.
He is the danger man.
Recent Meetings
This has been very one-sided for a long time. In fact, the goals scored have been very one-sided as well.
LFC have already beaten us this season as they got a 3-0 victory in match 3 of the campaign.
In the last eight league meetings United have won just once which was former manager Erik ten Hag's first official win as MUFC boss.
That feels like a lifetime ago 😔.
In the other seven matches, there have been two draws and five Liverpool thumpings including the infamous 7-0 in this fixture two seasons ago.
Those 7 goals are part of 26 our rivals have scored against us in this period. 26.
United on the other hand, have scored just the 6 times in eight previous meetings. 6.
However, we did manage to get a 0-0 draw in this fixture last season despite the stupidest second yellow card you'll ever see by Michael Oliver to Diogo Dalot.
Guess who's the ref on Sunday?
The game was already difficult for us. They didn't have to do us like this 😐.
The last time we won at Anfield was in 15/16 when a late Wayne Rooney goal gave us the 1-0 victory despite Liverpool being all over us in that match.
Something like that will do nicely this time as well.
Prediction
It could be anything. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was a cricket score.
I don't know what the score line will be but we all know that Liverpool will win and win well.
We just have to somehow come out of there with some pride.
Background Player Image: Matthijs De Ligt | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)