Manchester United and Liverpool square off in a huge FA Cup quarterfinal at Old Trafford on Sunday and there are some intriguing team selection dilemmas for Erik ten Hag and Jurgen Klopp.
PREVIEW: MANCHESTER UNITED v LIVERPOOL
Both managers have key players returning from injury and with the international break coming up after this game, is it worth risking some of their stars in order to beat their bitter rivals and reach the FA Cup semifinals in the process? Fans will say definitely. Both managers will have their concerns as they look ahead to the intense final two months of the season.
For Erik ten Hag, he hopes to have a trio of important players back, while Jurgen Klopp seems likely to start Mohamed Salah as he’s finally back to full fitness. In terms of the style of play, we know what we are going to get from Liverpool no matter who starts or comes off the bench, but United have gone into their shell in recent weeks and look more comfortable playing on the counter.
These two teams drew 0-0 at Anfield earlier in the season when they met in the Premier League and the smart money is on another low-scoring encounter at Old Trafford this weekend.
Below are the Manchester United vs Liverpool predicted lineups in full with analysis on the options both teams have.
Manchester United predicted lineup (4-2-3-1)
——- Onana ——-
—— Dalot —— Varane —— Maguire — Lindelof —-
—— Casemiro —— Mainoo ——
—- Garnacho —- McTominay —- Rashford —-
——- Fernandes ——-
If Maguire is fit then he probably comes straight back in to the lineup for Evans, while Wan-Bissaka’s potential return could see him start at right back with Dalot switching to left back. Casemiro and Mainoo will continue to shield the fragile back four but United can’t give up the quality of chances they did against Everton last weekend because Liverpool will punish them. The three attacking midfielders will definitely be Garnacho on the right and Rashford on the left. McTominay starting at No. 10 makes sense to try and disrupt Liverpool’s flow in midfield and be a threat on the counter with his direct runs. Bruno Fernandes up top as a false nine (United’s formation fluctuates between a 4-4-1-1, 4-2-3-1 and a 4-2-4 during the game) causes problems as it drags center backs out and allows space for Rashford and Garnacho to exploit on the counter. If Rasmus Hojlund is fit to start, expected Bruno to drop back to a No. 10 role in place of McTominay.
Liverpool predicted lineup (4-3-3)
——- Kelleher ——-
—- Bradley —- Konate —- Van Dijk —- Robertson —-
—— Mac Allister —— Endo —— Szoboszlai ——
—— Salah —— Nunez —— Diaz ——
Kelleher will continue to stand in for the injured Alisson, while Liverpool’s back four is pretty settled and the only change will be Konate for Quansah if the former is fit. Joe Gomez may start at right back due to his extra experience over Bradley, while he could also slot into midfield if Endo needs a rest. But it’s in midfield that the trio of Mac Allister, Endo and Szoboszlai have a perfect balance but Klopp may start Harvey Elliott as he tries to not overload Szoboszlai who has just come back from injury. Up top the trio of Salah, Nunez and Diaz should start with Gakpo a great option off the bench. Salah, Robertson and Szoboszlai all played the full 90 against Sparta Prague on Thursday so it will be intriguing to see if they start at United as they’re almost back to full fitness. Endo, Nunez, Van Dijk and Gomez all played just 45 minutes against Sparta which suggests they will all start against United.
