Perhaps English football’s greatest rivalry resumes on Sunday and the stakes are high as Manchester United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford for an FA Cup quarterfinal. For the hosts there is the opportunity not only to inflict defeat on a rival but to end their pursuit of four major trophies in a single season. Equally significantly, United boss Erik ten Hag could really do with silverware to impress his new owners with.
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Meanwhile Liverpool’s quadruple dream remains firmly alive, however, and Jurgen Klopp’s men look to be recovering fitness as their form holds firm. Thursday saw them smash a further six goals past Sparta Prague, winning the tie 11-2 on aggregate, as Mohamed Salah came back with a bang, scoring inside the first 10 minutes. Here is how you can watch the match and what you need to know:
Viewing information
- Date: Sunday, March 17 | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Old Trafford — Manchester, United Kingdom
- Watch: ESPN+
- Odds: Manchester United +275; Draw: +300; Liverpool -138
Storylines
Manchester United: The opposition squad might be boosted by the return of Salah but Ten Hag is also welcoming back key players of his own, Rasmus Hojlund on course to feature having missed the last four games with a muscle issue. Prior to that the Dane had eight goals in as many games. It is not only Hojlund on the road to recovery with Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, both of whom would be valuable options for a game where United could spend a lot of time defending their own penalty area.
This will certainly be a challenge for United but Ten Hag thinks his side, who have lost three of their four league meetings with Manchester City and were beaten 7-0 by Liverpool last season, raise their game on the biggest days. “Some games are bigger than others, I think Manchester United against Liverpool is always a big game. I am looking forward to it,” he said. “In such games, we always achieve good performances. I don’t think in any really high-rated game that we had any lows. They are very consistent, we need our best to beat them.”
Liverpool: Klopp will be hoping that Salah’s return is followed by that of Ibrahima Konate though on Friday he said the French center back was in a “tight race we might lose”. Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold will also be missing though all three could well be back soon after the upcoming international break.
Salah, meanwhile, will be looking to continue an astonishing record against Manchester United. In 13 matches against them he has four assists and 12 goals, the most any player has scored in the 212 meetings of these northern football powerhouses. “Mo is pure quality,” said Klopp. “Ask him what he likes most about Manchester United but the more we talk about it the less likely it will happen again. Exceptional guy, a world-class player and how we dealt without him was unbelievable.
“Unbelievable. The boys did really well but it is better to have him around and on the pitch than just in the dressing room. We could build it now with his minutes and he is ready for Sunday.”
Prediction
Ten Hag’s optimism about his side’s ability to cope with Liverpool may be ill-founded. Even with midweek football in their legs they should have enough to win at the home of their great rivals. PICK: Manchester United 0, Liverpool 2
