One of the standout fixtures on the English football calendar takes place at Anfield on Sunday, as Liverpool host arch-rivals Manchester United.
As we head into Matchday 17, table-topping Liverpool find themselves one point clear of second-placed Arsenal and 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Man Utd.
Having each suffered a defeat in Europe in midweek, both sides will be eager to bounce back at Anfield. That said, the hosts enter Sunday’s showdown as clear favourites.
On Thursday, Jurgen Klopp named Liverpool’s youngest-ever team for a European match, but the youngsters were unable to prevent a 2-1 loss against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Still, the Reds qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League as Group E winners after scoring 17 goals across four wins and two defeats.
In the Premier League, Liverpool have avoided defeat in each of their last nine matches, picking up six wins and three draws to cement top spot in the table.
Having lost just one of their 16 league outings this season – notching 11 wins and four draws in the process – Klopp’s men will be confident of enjoying more success on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in midweek, meaning they finished rock bottom of their Champions League group.
The Red Devils have now lost three of their previous four games, with Premier League defeats to Newcastle and Bournemouth preceding Tuesday’s failure.
Erik ten Hag’s side have been wildly inconsistent on the road this season, recording four wins, one draw and five losses in 10 away outings across all competitions.
Having conceded 18 goals on their travels this term – averaging 1.8 goals against per game – Man Utd will struggle to keep free-scoring Liverpool at bay.
Head-to-head: When Man Utd last visited Anfield back in March, Liverpool thrashed the Red Devils 7-0, with Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah each scoring twice.
To make matters worse for United, they have managed to win just one of their previous 10 Premier League meetings with the Reds, losing five of the last seven.
Team news: Liverpool’s injury list contains Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Jota, Andrew Robertson, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Stefan Bajcetic.
As for Man Utd, they will be without Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw this weekend.
When you couple the contrasting form of these two sides with Liverpool’s recent record against Man Utd, all the signs point towards a home win.
Forebet predicts that Liverpool will score over 2.5 goals on their way to dispatching Manchester United, who look set to suffer a fourth defeat in five games.