The next goal festival between two great rivals?
There is one of the most watched rivalries in English football between Liverpool and Manchester United. A defeat in this game weighs on the mood of both camps worlds more than, for example, a lost derby against the respective local rivals Everton and Manchester City. Accordingly, this clash is once again precarious.
While the Reds must not drop points in the battle for the championship under any circumstances, qualification for the Champions League is still in the balance for the Red Devils. Looking at the fact that the Scousers have collected 19 points more so far, Jürgen Klopp’s selection is favoured. In the run-up to the match between Liverpool and Manchester United, the odds are clearly in favour of the home side.
It’s worth noting that last year was an extremely high-scoring affair between the two long-term rivals. In 2021 they faced each other twice in the league and in the FA Cup. In all three matches, at least one goal was scored per game – 16 in total. Accordingly, we find a lot of value in betting on Liverpool against Manchester United to score more than 3.5 goals.
Liverpool – Statistics & current form
Liverpool Football Club could achieve something gigantic in the 2021/22 season, namely the quadruple of the Premier League title, the overall victory in both English club cups and the Champions League triumph.
The Reds finally secured the EFL Cup at the end of February with a spectacular penalty shootout victory over Chelsea (11:10). The fact that Jürgen Klopp’s team is still in the title race in all other competitions two months later is a big exclamation mark in itself.
Only one point behind Manchester City
In the top flight, the Scousers are favourites to beat Bayern’s Villarreal in the semi-final, while Chelsea await again in the FA Cup final on 14 May. That leaves the Premier League, where the Reds have remained unbeaten in all twelve games in 2022 (ten wins, two draws).
Last weekend, Klopp’s team did not manage a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. But by avoiding defeat here, too, the gap to the Sky Blues remained at one point. Accordingly, it is now a question of who will slip up for the first time in the long-distance duels.
The best home team in the Premier League
It would be all the more bitter for the Reds if the championship were to be squandered with a home defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United, of all teams. However, given that LFC have not lost any of their 15 home games so far in the league (12 wins, three draws) and have only conceded seven home goals at Anfield Road, bettors think a home win is highly likely.
Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Alisson – Robertson – van Dijk – Matip – Alexander-Arnold – Thiago – Fabinho – Oxlade-Chamberlain – Mané – Salah – Jota
Last matches played by Liverpool:
FA Cup
16/04/2022 – Manchester City 2 – 3 Liverpool FC
Champions League Final
14/04/2022 – Liverpool FC 3 – 3 Benfica
Premier League
10/04/2022 – Manchester City 2 – 2 Liverpool FC
Champions League Final
06/04/2022 – Benfica 1 – 3 Liverpool FC
Premier League
02/04/2022 – Liverpool FC 2 – 0 Watford
Manchester United – Statistics & current form
Manchester United are still the English record champions. Since the last championship title in the summer of 2013 under the legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson, however, it has become increasingly quiet around the Red Devils.
MUFC have missed out on the Champions League every now and then in recent years and are currently only in fifth place under Ralf Rangnick, three points behind Tottenham, which is even shaky. Chasing Arsenal still have an open game to play.
Can an away win smooth the waters?
The prestige duel with Liverpool is correspondingly important for the Red Devils, in which it is not only a matter of taking revenge for the embarrassment from the first leg (5-0 home defeat at Old Trafford), but also of staying on course for the Champions League.
What’s more, an away win at their arch-rivals, still unbeaten at home, could also reconcile fans who just last Easter weekend staged another protest march against the Glazer family, who have owned the club since 2005, and booed Paul Pogba loudly in the recent 3-2 home win over Norwich.
Only two wins in last eight competitive games
The 3-2 win over the Canaries, meanwhile, was one of just two victories in the Red Devils’ last eight competitive matches, underlining why Liverpool’s betting on Rangnick’s side to pick up a point against Manchester United is not under the best of omens.
Defensively, in particular, the English record champions have not been too good, having conceded 44 goals in 32 league games – exactly twice as many as today’s hosts Liverpool. All in all, MUFC have only the ninth-best defence in the Premier League.
Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea – Telles – Lindelöf – Maguire – Wan-Bissaka – Lingard – Pogba – Fernandes – Sancho – Rashford – Ronaldo
Last matches played by Manchester United:
Premier League
16/04/2022 – Manchester United 3 – 2 Norwich
09/04/2022 – Everton 1 – 0 Manchester United
02/04/2022 – Manchester United 1 – 1 Leicester
Champions League Final
16/03/2022 – Manchester United 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Premier League
13/03/2022 – Manchester United 3 – 2 Tottenham
Liverpool – Manchester United Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Head to head: 79 – 68 – 89
There have been a total of 236 meetings between the two teams so far and the Red Devils lead the head-to-head comparison with 89 wins. However, Liverpool have lost only one of their last eight meetings and just celebrated a brilliant 5-0 away win at Old Trafford in the first leg in October.
Liverpool – Manchester United tip
When it comes to Liverpool vs Manchester United, the prediction clearly goes to the Reds, who are not only still unbeaten at home in the entire 2021/22 season (twelve wins, three draws), but also bring the best record in 2022. The Scousers have taken 32 out of a possible 36 points in the current calendar year. By comparison, the Red Devils, who have already played two more league games, only have 23 points out of a possible 42.
We see the greatest value in this extremely important prestige duel for both sides in betting on another goal spectacle. In the last three encounters in 2022, at least five goals were scored per match.
