Liverpool v Manchester United

Saw Dalglish on SSN earlier, god he's a miserable sod.

That's just the way he looks, it's not his fault...

Kenny-Dalglish-Cropped.jpg
 
A bit worried about our midfield going into this one. The fact that it doesn't pick itself on merit is quite worrying. What sort of midfield is everyone expecting us to go with?

.................Anderson..............Fletcher.....................

Nani.........................Rooney..........................Young

..............................Welbeck.................................

Is what I expect to see in front of our defence.
 
If we go for a three man midfield then I'm taking that as Fergie being equally concerned about the form of some of our midfielders. 4-4-2 should be fine against Liverpool, even though they tend to pack it out. Welbeck and Rooney need to start for me.
 
I'm finding, in the build-up to this one, that it's nice having lost the last 3. There's almost an expectation that we'll be our usual Anfield selves and not turn up.

I'm expecting a laboured, poor performance so will be even more chuffed if we batter them.

Maybe? :)
 
I'm finding, in the build-up to this one, that it's nice having lost the last 3. There's almost an expectation that we'll be our usual Anfield selves and not turn up.

I'm expecting a laboured, poor performance so will be even more chuffed if we batter them.

Maybe? :)

|Stick to the former.
 
If we go for a three man midfield then I'm taking that as Fergie being equally concerned about the form of some of our midfielders. 4-4-2 should be fine against Liverpool, even though they tend to pack it out. Welbeck and Rooney need to start for me.

4-4-2 hasn't done us much good there the last couple of seasons. For me an inability to dominate the midifeld early on, seems to hand the initiative to Liverpool and give the crowd encouragement.

Away from home in any game, most especially a huge derby, it is vital to silence the crowd by taking control of the game early. We have failed to do this the last couple of times and paid a heavy price.

Considering both our recent record in this fixture, and our defensive frailties in the last few games, i would play definitely play 3 in the centre, and have Nani, Rooney and Young swapping positions up front.

We simply must get an early foothold in this game to have a reasonable chance of a positive result. If we play as open as we have in the last few games i cannot see anything other than a Liverpool win, we have not been punished as much as our defending deserved in recent matches, bad finishing and good fortune have come to our rescue.

We cannot keep on relying on people not taking the chances we are presenting them with, we need to go back to defending as a team in this fixture and once that platform is established our superior quality up front will surely give us the chances we need to get a win.
 
.................Anderson..............Fletcher.....................

Nani.........................Rooney..........................Young

..............................Welbeck.................................

Is what I expect to see in front of our defence.



Like that with Rooney in the hole. I'm a Jones in midfield man but can't see that happening yet. Not a game for Carrick IMO.
 
BFA - our biggest premier league win is 3-1 at Anfield. Done it a couple of times in the 90's

I believe our biggest win there was 4-0 (maybe 4-1) late 60's, early 70's. Will need to double check..

I'll settle for a scrappy 1-0 tomorrow
 
I think Fletcher needs someone with defensive discipline next to him. I think he struggles if he is the more defensive midfielder as he runs around a lot which can leave us exposed.
 
Roy Evans says Liverpool can win Premier League this season

Liverpool won the league 12 times during Roy Evans's time at Anfield Former manager Roy Evans believes Liverpool are serious contenders to win the Premier League this season.

The Reds have not won a top-flight title for 21 years, with rivals Manchester United lifting the Premier League 12 times during that period.

The two sides meet on Saturday - and Liverpool can close the gap on leaders United to three points with a win.

Evans, Anfield boss between 1994 and 1998, insisted: "We could do it this year, never write Liverpool off."

Evans, 63, played, coached and managed at Liverpool during an illustrious 33-year spell which saw the Reds enjoy unprecedented success. They won 12 league titles, four European Cups, five FA Cups, five League Cups and the Uefa Cup twice.

But the run of league titles ended in 1990 with manager Kenny Dalglish at the helm.

The Scot is back at Anfield after a 20-year absence and his second spell as manager has been backed financially by American owner John W Henry, who celebrates a year in charge on Saturday.

Dalglish has spent £115m, bringing in Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Sebastian Coates.

Evans believes that depth of investment and Dalglish's know-how makes Liverpool realistic title contenders.

He said: "You have got to believe you can win it. There's no point being in it if you don't think you can win it, certainly at Liverpool's level - that's where you've got to be.

"You've got to have in your mind that, if you went on a bit of a run, you have got a chance.

"We've got to keep progressing. We could do it this year, never write Liverpool off.

Ryan Giggs has played in 41 matches between the sides - more than anybody else. The last direct transfer between the clubs was in 1964 when Phil Chisnall moved from United to Anfield.

Liverpool have won 38 league games at Anfield compared to Man Utd's 22. Eighteen have been drawn.

"There's still plenty of football to go. Liverpool play Manchester United on Saturday at Anfield and, if we beat them, it will set them back a little bit and give us lots of confidence.

"Liverpool are going the right way, they are going forward - and I think it's been a fantastic year under John Henry."

Liverpool have beaten Manchester United in their last three Premier League meetings at Anfield, the latest being a 3-1 victory under Dalglish.

But United have won six of their opening seven league games this season and, along with rivals Manchester City, seem to be the team to beat.

Henry, who paid £300m for Liverpool, has set a top-four finish as a minimum target for Dalglish - and Evans believes that is realistic.

He added: "Manchester United look strong and Manchester City are progressing but a few of the others seem to have dropped away.

"Arsenal don't seem to be what they were and Tottenham are just starting to find their feet after a slow start. If we can get ourselves in that top four where we should be, that will be great progress."

BBC Sport - Roy Evans says Liverpool can win Premier League this season

Another diluded Scouser :wenger::wenger:
 
BBC Sport website (usual story here though)

TEAM NEWS
Captain Steven Gerrard is set to start for Liverpool for the first time since 6 March after his slow recovery from a niggling groin problem.

That means they have a fully-fit squad, with Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly, Daniel Agger and Fabio Aurelio all available.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic will be left to decide himself if he is ready to return from the calf strain.

Chris Smalling may be fit to return, but Tom Cleverley and Rafael Da Silva are unavailable because of injuries.

MATCH PREVIEW
A time to celebrate anniversaries - and gnash the teeth over old rivalries - as the two most successful sides in English league history collide at a white-hot atmospheric Anfield.

It's a year since John W Henry bought Liverpool and ended the Hicks-Gillett nightmare. The club is already a fair way down the road to redemption, and they'll be roaring for revenge after seeing their record number of titles surpassed by United - who now have 19.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is unbeaten in his last five league games against United at Anfield, ever since Sir Alex's first match in charge against Liverpool there on Boxing Day 1986. And Premier League champions United have lost their last three in front of the Kop.

Dalglish is unbeaten in his last five league games against United at Anfield, ever since Sir Alex's first match in charge against Liverpool there in 1986
They've also wobbled in too many big away games of late, losing six of their last seven league visits to "big four" rivals. But they're still unbeaten in 12 games and they've only conceded two away league goals. This is the toughest test for both clubs so far.

The scene is set for Stevie Gerrard to start his first league game since he was injured against United in March and, possibly, to score his 50th Premier League goal at Anfield.

Wouldn't it also be typical of Wayne Rooney to make the right sort of headlines with his first Anfield goal in seven visits - and his 10th for the club so far this campaign?

But what of potential sub-plots? Will Andy Carroll's power in the air settle it? Will Nemanja Vidic return to add experience to United's defence - or will he suffer a fourth sending off against Liverpool? Big questions! Big game! Big rivals! Bring it on!

MATCH FACTSHead-to-head

United have lost their last three Premier League visits to Anfield, not winning since a 1-0 victory in December 2007 when Carlos Tevez scored. This is the club's longest run of defeats at Liverpool under Sir Alex Ferguson - and the longest since losing seven from 1972-79.
•But United have the edge over Liverpool in terms of overall league victories, by 71 wins to 61. The two clubs first met in 1895 - in the old division two - when the Merseyside club romped to a 7-1 win.
•There have been four red cards in the last four Premier League meetings at Anfield - three for Manchester United, one for Liverpool.
•Draws are rare in this league fixture's recent history. The last one came 12 matches back, a 0-0 encounter at Anfield in September 2005.
Liverpool

•Liverpool have won six of nine matches in all competitions so far this season, drawing once and scoring 15 goals so far.
•They have had more possession than their opponents in six of their seven league matches this season, the exception being the 4-0 loss at Tottenham when they were reduced to nine men.
•Steven Gerrard has scored four Premier League goals in this fixture - the most of any current Liverpool player. He is two short of Robbie Fowler's six-goal record.
•Dirk Kuyt scored only the second-ever Premier League hat-trick by a player against Manchester United in Liverpool's 3-1 victory in March.
Manchester United

•Premier League leaders and reigning champions Manchester United are unbeaten in 11 league and cup games so far this season - scoring 34 goals in the process.
•And United are up to their old tricks again - the period of league matches in which they are most prolific is the last five minutes. So far, they have scored on five occasions during this time period.
•United's Liverpool-born former Everton striker Wayne Rooney has failed to score in his last six league visits to Anfield. His only goal in all nine league visits was in United's 1-0 victory in January 2005.
•England international Rooney is the Premier League's top scorer this season, with nine goals.

Typical BBc sport TBF. Highlight every single possible positive they can for Liverpool. This is almost as bad as the Alen Hansen blog earlier in the week.

So much for media neutrality. How much would they love to see Liverpool win this and United to get a man or two sent off. Give them a nice big juicy story.
 
Typical BBc sport TBF. Highlight every single possible positive they can for Liverpool. This is almost as bad as the Alen Hansen blog earlier in the week.

So much for media neutrality. How much would they love to see Liverpool win this and United to get a man or two sent off. Give them a nice big juicy story.

Aside from them mentioning "Stevie" Gerrard, there's not a whole lot wrong with that to be fair. Seems you're looking for bias more than anything to me.
 
Aside from them mentioning "Stevie" Gerrard, there's not a whole lot wrong with that to be fair. Seems you're looking for bias more than anything to me.

I think it's hopelessly onesided for a preview piece on a game.

Have a quick look on the website and see what they are publishing this week. The two main articles are one from Alan hanson saying Liverpool are going to win the game and one from Roy Evans saying they are going to win the League.

I highlighted the pieces that annoyed me. It's not OTT one sided, but it certainly is much more positive about Liverpool than it is about United. In a sly way really that could slip under the radar.
 
Liverpool won the league 12 times during Roy Evans's time at Anfield Former manager Roy Evans believes Liverpool are serious contenders to win the Premier League this season.

The Reds have not won a top-flight title for 21 years, with rivals Manchester United lifting the Premier League 12 times during that period.

The two sides meet on Saturday - and Liverpool can close the gap on leaders United to three points with a win.

Evans, Anfield boss between 1994 and 1998, insisted: "We could do it this year, never write Liverpool off."

Evans, 63, played, coached and managed at Liverpool during an illustrious 33-year spell which saw the Reds enjoy unprecedented success. They won 12 league titles, four European Cups, five FA Cups, five League Cups and the Uefa Cup twice.

But the run of league titles ended in 1990 with manager Kenny Dalglish at the helm.

The Scot is back at Anfield after a 20-year absence and his second spell as manager has been backed financially by American owner John W Henry, who celebrates a year in charge on Saturday.

Dalglish has spent £115m, bringing in Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Sebastian Coates.

Evans believes that depth of investment and Dalglish's know-how makes Liverpool realistic title contenders.

He said: "You have got to believe you can win it. There's no point being in it if you don't think you can win it, certainly at Liverpool's level - that's where you've got to be.

"You've got to have in your mind that, if you went on a bit of a run, you have got a chance.

"We've got to keep progressing. We could do it this year, never write Liverpool off.

Ryan Giggs has played in 41 matches between the sides - more than anybody else. The last direct transfer between the clubs was in 1964 when Phil Chisnall moved from United to Anfield.

Liverpool have won 38 league games at Anfield compared to Man Utd's 22. Eighteen have been drawn.

"There's still plenty of football to go. Liverpool play Manchester United on Saturday at Anfield and, if we beat them, it will set them back a little bit and give us lots of confidence.

"Liverpool are going the right way, they are going forward - and I think it's been a fantastic year under John Henry."

Liverpool have beaten Manchester United in their last three Premier League meetings at Anfield, the latest being a 3-1 victory under Dalglish.

But United have won six of their opening seven league games this season and, along with rivals Manchester City, seem to be the team to beat.

Henry, who paid £300m for Liverpool, has set a top-four finish as a minimum target for Dalglish - and Evans believes that is realistic.

He added: "Manchester United look strong and Manchester City are progressing but a few of the others seem to have dropped away.

"Arsenal don't seem to be what they were and Tottenham are just starting to find their feet after a slow start. If we can get ourselves in that top four where we should be, that will be great progress."

BBC Sport - Roy Evans says Liverpool can win Premier League this season

Another diluded Scouser :wenger::wenger:

Every single year is their year... remember....;)
 
Oh who gives a shit what the media say before a game? It's like RAWK around here at times with the paranoia and "the media is always against United" bullshit.

There's nothing wrong with that article.
 
For anyone who has access to ESPN Classic there is a programme called Football Rivalries tomorrow morning at 9.10 which is a decent documentary about the history and rivalry between Liverpool & United. After that programme is United's 3-0 win against Liverpool from 2007/08.
 
Never know what you're going to get in a Lpool United fixture. Don't want to jinx it but there hasn't been a 0-0 in a while. I think 05 was the last one.
 
Especially it being Anfield where Vidic constantly goes mental and we constantly choose the wrong tactics in recent times:(

VDS always used to go a bit nuts at Anfield too.

It's not been a happy hunting ground for one reason or another. We've constantly failed to match their intensity and we've often produced very few scoring opportunities.

Agree with Crumpsall, Rooney needs to play naturally instead of trying to force a performance.

Midfield selection is key to us winning the match really.
 
Team
Starting XI:

248769_Manchester_United.jpg

Bench: Lindegaard, Jones, Evans, Giggs, Nani, Chicharito, Berbatov

Predicition: 2-3 (Downing, Suarez - Welbeck, Young, Chicharito)

Yeah let's keep our best players this season so far out of the starting line-up why not.