Prediction: Liverpool vs Manchester United

14th October 2011

Liverpool will have a perfect opportunity to prove everyone they are serious title contenders by beating fierce rivals Manchester United at Anfield, which would be their fourth straight victory over United in front of home fans. The Red Devils are obviously hoping to end the poor run at Anfield and remain at the top of the standings.

Even if Liverpool owner John Henry recently admitted to having doubts over the appointment of club legend Kenny Dalglish, that is proving to be probably the best decision he has ever made. King Kenny stabilized the squad shortly after his arrival and we could see that Liverpool were a different team even last season. Heavy summer spending helped the gaffer further reinforce the squad before the start of the new season, so nobody is really surprised to see the Reds doing so well this term. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but the good thing is that the team are finally showing some consistency, with three successive wins giving the hosts plenty of reason for optimism before the United game. After quite a while, the squad is virtually injury-free as not only has Steven Gerrard fully recovered from injury, but Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Martin Kelly and Fabio Aurelio have done the same, meaning that Dalglish will have full squad to choose from.

Defending champions Manchester United are also looking very good this season, probably even better than many have expected. New signings Phil Jones and Ashley Young have started pulling their weight immediately upon their arrival to Old Trafford, whereas Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck have done brilliantly after returning from loan spells at Wigan and Sunderland respectively. Such was the impact of United’s youngsters that experienced players like Giggs, Carrick, Park and Berbatov were rarely called upon, while Antonio Valencia had to feature at right-back in order to get some playing time. The busy schedule have started to take its toll on the players of late, with United experiencing big problems against Stoke, Basel and Norwich, and they will definitely have to show some improvement in order to end the barren run at Anfield. The good news is that Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling will be available for selection, although Tom Cleverley and Rafael Da Silva remain sidelined.

Conclusion

This is the perfect time for Liverpool to be facing the Premier League champions as the Reds, unlike their opponents, appear to be on the uptrend at the moment. That should give the hosts the upper hand, but I still believe that United are capable of getting at least one point from Anfield.

Verdict: Draw (X)

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: Victor Chandler