Prediction: Manchester United vs Liverpool

England’s most successful teams will face each other on Sunday at the Old Trafford in contrasting moods, with Manchester United obviously the favourites after winning their last five league games. Liverpool slipped to ninth as they failed to beat Sunderland, while they also need to try and make amends for the Champions League exit.

Just over a month ago, Manchester United fans feared that Louis van Gaal could prove to be even bigger disappointment than David Moyes, but the Red Devils have since done brilliantly to return to the right track. Promising performances in matches against Chelsea and Manchester City were just a sign of things to come as the Old Trafford outfit would soon start a winning run that has yet to end. Fast forward four weeks and Manchester United have climbed to third position in the Premier League standings on the back of five hard-fought victories, with players brimming with confidence at the moment. Just like Liverpool did last season, it is Manchester United who are now profiting from not playing in Europe and no doubt they will have the extra edge with the Reds facing FC Basel in midweek. And with Robin van Persie back amongst the goals, the Red Devils look a good bet to extend the impressive run. Numerous injury problems are still giving Louis van Gaal major headaches, although the good news is that Jonny Evans is fit to start while Rafael and Phil Jones also return. However, Angel Di Maria, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind remain on the sidelines.

There are no doubts that the failure to sign a worthy replacement for Luis Suarez has been the main reason behind team’s disappointing performances this season and Brendan Rodgers has got to take much of the blame having decided to take a gamble with Mario Balotelli. The Reds were unlucky to have Daniel Sturridge miss a big chunk of the Premier League opening stages, while the Champions League campaign proved detrimental to team’s league performances. And with Liverpool crashing out in group stage, their European fixtures can now be described as a major distraction, so the CL exit may prove to be a blessing in disguise. The fact of the matter is that most key players in the squad are largely struggling for form at the moment and the situation surrounding captain Steven Gerrard is not helping. All things considered, Liverpool do not appear to be in a good shape ahead of the clash with in-form Manchester United, meaning they will have to show a massive improvement if they want to avoid defeat at Old Trafford. The good news is Adam Lallana is in contention despite fracturing two ribs, while Mario Balotelli and Kolo Toure also return.

Conclusion

For the first time after quite a while, Manchester United are playing with a lot of confidence and with the Red Devils having had a full week to prepare for the crunch tie, they can be trusted to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, Liverpool are going through a very rough patch and I just cannot see them getting anything from this match.

Verdict: Home win Manchester United (1)

Best Odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: William Hill