Liverpool v Manchester United Match Result
Liverpool’s betting odds of 1.60 implies that the Reds have a roughly 62.5% chance of landing a success against Manchester United. They certainly haven’t turned into a bad team overnight but are experiencing teething problems in Arne Slot’s second season. The campaign began with seven straight wins in all competitions, although there was a sharp downturn in results before the international break.
A 2-1 defeat at Selhurst Park was followed by a European reverse away to Galatasaray, with Chelsea then scoring a last-gasp winner against the Reds at Stamford Bridge. The truth is that Liverpool weren’t particularly convincing during that winning run. With the exception of a 4-2 win over Bournemouth, all triumphs thus far have been by a single goal.
Therefore, punters might be wary of backing Liverpool to win this game, especially as this fixture ended 2-2 last season. Manchester United might continue to struggle under Ruben Amorim but this is a fixture where players are often able to raise their game. They went into the international break after a 2-0 win over Sunderland although that was preceded by a 3-1 defeat at Brentford.
There’s still a weak defensive underbelly under Amorim but we might expect a pragmatic approach from the Portuguese. This could mean the game ends in a draw, especially as the Liverpool attack struggles to fire. Florian Wirtz has had a difficult start to life on Merseyside and Alexander Isak is short of fitness after missing pre-season.
It's clear that Liverpool are the likely winners although there are issues defensively for a team who have problems in the full-back area. Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were signed as the first-choice players in that area, although neither are covering themselves in glory right now.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals is an anticipated outcome according to the Premier League betting sites. There’s a roughly 70% chance of this happening according to the stats, although much depends on whether that Liverpool attack are able to fire. It’s possible that Manchester United will set up to not concede and that could lead to a tighter encounter than the market implies.
Five of Liverpool’s seven Premier League matches have seen at least three goals scored. The exceptions were 1-0 victories over Arsenal and Burnley. On both occasions, their opponents played and nearly achieved a draw, although Amorim’s United did come to Anfield and actually attack last term. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and it’s worth bearing that in mind.
Four of United’s seven games have been Over 2.5 Goals this term, with three having gone under although the Red Devils will be looking to build on that first clean sheet of the season against Sunderland before the international break.
BTTS
In light of both teams struggling defensively, BTTS Yes is seen as a likely outcome. The bookies have this at around a 65% probability, with Liverpool having found the net in every single Premier League clash thus far. They haven’t been foot perfect by any means although they are averaging nearly two goals per match and that suggests finding the net is likely here.
Mohamed Salah will hope to rediscover some of his best form after a slow start to the campaign, while Alexander Isak might start to demonstrate why the club invested so heavily in the striker. Florian Wirtz is another player looking to shine, with Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike having found the net several times already.
Much of this bet comes down to whether Manchester United are able to find the net. They have scored nine goals this season although seven have come at Old Trafford. On the road, they achieved a 1-1 draw at Fulham before a 3-0 derby defeat and then came that 3-1 reverse at Brentford. On two occasions, Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty.
United will hope to profit against a shaky defence who conceded two at home to Bournemouth in their opening match. However, Liverpool did keep a clean sheet against Arsenal before beating Everton 2-1.
First Goalscorer
Is Alexander Isak going to come to the party after the international break? The Sweden fans condemned his performance against Switzerland and the half-fit forward might be on the bench for this big match, with Hugo Ekitike looking like a sparkier attacking player right now. His pace could cause problems for a United rearguard who have conceded in all three away games.
Mohamed Salah is on penalty duties and the Egyptian does have six for the season. He bagged a brace against Djibouti on international duty, although the forward has only bagged two Premier League goals for Liverpool this term. One of them was a late penalty against Burnley and the other added some icing to the cake against Bournemouth.
We think that Liverpool’s prowess from set pieces might be a factor here. Dominic Szoboszlai has plenty of acumen from free-kicks and Virgil van Dijk is always a target from corners. However, Manchester United may be able to have some joy and Bryan Mbeumo will surely add to his solitary top-flight goal scored against Burnley.