In just three weeks of the 2024/25 season, one of world football’s biggest fixtures is set to take place, with Manchester United hosting Liverpool in a high-stakes Premier League clash this Sunday.
This fixture, featuring England’s two most successful club sides, is always a grand occasion, and this match adds an intriguing subplot with a Dutch managerial battle on the touchline.
It will be Arne Slot’s first encounter with this historic rivalry as Liverpool’s boss, and he’ll be facing off against his former Eredivisie counterpart, Erik ten Hag, for the fifth time.
Liverpool head into this game in slightly better form; Slot has started his tenure with two 2-0 victories over Ipswich Town and Brentford and will be eager to win over supporters with a triumph at Old Trafford.
Manchester United began the season with a Community Shield defeat but secured a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham at home.
However, they experienced late heartbreak last weekend, as Brighton & Hove Albion clinched a 2-1 victory with a 95th-minute header from João Pedro.
“It’s going to be different, of course, because when we played them in the States I think it was 50-50 [with] the fans,” Slot said ahead of the game.
The stadium was somewhere the same – I think it was 80,000 or something like this – but the atmosphere will be completely different, of course, because I’m not expecting half of the stadium that they are cheering for us or they are in favour for us – I would be surprised if it happens!
“So, that’s going to be different but what makes it more different is that both teams have a lot of different players on the pitch.
“So you can’t compare that game with the game on Sunday.
“Some of them tried to tell me a few things about it, but I don’t think that’s really necessary.
“If you’re starting to work at Liverpool, everybody knows, every player that comes in knows and every manager that comes in knows how important the game against United is.
“It’s similar to when you work at Feyenoord, how big the game against Ajax is.
“People tell you, of course, but it’s not really necessary because if you follow the game of football, which I do for a long time, you know the importance of Liverpool against United or United against Liverpool.
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Nunez, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley.
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