Reds should be positive ahead of the mouthwatering fixture against a Manchester United side ravaged by injuries…
1) Raheem Sterling’s individual battle with Ashley Young…
With United’s injury crisis, attacking winger Ashley Young should continue at left-back. We watched him against Southampton, and he was dreadful defensively. Raheem Sterling, and even the potentially overlapping Glen Johnson, have the ability to terrorise Young if they can get him in one-on-one situations. Sterling’s been approaching his best form in recent weeks, and will be relishing the chance of teaching Young a footballing lesson at Old Trafford.
2) Manchester United’s injury crisis…
United are on the back of five wins, but they haven’t been playing well, and they’re currently struck down by seven injuries to first-team players. Both first-choice fullbacks are out (Rafael and Shaw), the holding midfield is out (Daley Blind) and Britain’s most expensive ever footballer (Angel di Maria) is also unavailable. In terms of the players at their disposal, Liverpool couldn’t pick a better time to take on United – especially considering their limited defensive options.
3) Steven Gerrard will be used further forward, and LOVES scoring goals against Manchester United…
Gerrard recently scored from open play against Leicester, and fired a beautiful free-kick in against FC Basel which almost set the tone for a famous comeback win. With Lucas used as the anchorman, Gerrard will get the chance to bomb forward, create and shoot. He bagged a brace from the penalty spot in the same fixture last season, meaning he’s now scored nine against United in total. Gerrard’s still the man for the big occasion…
4) United are aerially poor, and we’ll start with a target man up front…
We’re likely to be starting with Rickie Lambert up top, and can take advantage of the fact that United have two centre-backs out, and a poor aerial record. They’ve won only 14.1 headers per match, the fourth worst in the top flight this season – and only really have Marouane Fellaini as an excellent aerial threat. While Fellaini might present a problem when defending set-pieces, their lack of aerial nous is something to take advantage of offensively – especially with a powerful (if immobile) forward leading our line.
5) We have the players to win the central midfield battle…
Because United use Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in attack, they’ll likely be starting with Ander Herrera and Fellaini as their only two natural central midfielders. We’ll be deploying three; in Jordan Henderson, Lucas and Steven Gerrard – all of whom are far more experienced at dealing with the atmosphere and intensity of a Liverpool/United clash than the diminutive Spaniard. What Lucas and Henderson lack in creativity, they make up for in terms of effort, work-rate and combativeness – and this is often more important in a fixture likely to played at such a ferocious pace… If we can win the midfield battle, we can win the war on Sunday.
