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The third round of league matches this weekend will be headlined by one of the all-time rivalries Premier League history.
August 30, 2024
By: Davis Rothman
This weekend, the third round of games between the Premier League teams are to play this weekend, as two long-time titans of the Premier League clash with one another on Sunday…
Manchester United taking on long-time rivals Liverpool, at Old Trafford on Sunday.
For Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag, his record against Liverpool is two wins, two draws, and three losses, which includes the infamous 7-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield two seasons ago.
These two sides last met in the summer preseason tour in the United States, a match which saw Liverpool run away as 3-0 winners, which would also be the first time Ten Hag would face Liverpool manager Arne Slot since their spells with Ajax and Feyenoord respectively.
Looking ahead to the match, for Manchester United, changes are widely expected to be made from the team selection against Brighton. Mason Mount, picking up a muscular injury this week, ruling him out of contention for this match, along with Rasmus Hojlund who is still not quite ready to go. And as of right now, it remains questionable as to whether new signing Manuel Ugarte from Paris-St. Germain will be ready and eligible to be called upon for this match.
Manager Erik Ten Hag has other decisions to make too, such as whether he will include new signings Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs De Ligt in his starting 11 for the first time since signing for the club this summer. And with Manchester United’s current struggles to score goals, it will be wondered as to whether Zirkzee, who scored against Fulham will start, whether Ten Hag will opt to move Rashford into the middle, or if he keeps Bruno Fernandes down the middle as the false nine.
As for Liverpool, new signing Federico Chiesa from Juventus is in a similar predicament as Ugarte. Manager Arne Slot will have another decision to make in the heart of defense, as whether to re-integrate Jarrell Quansah into the starting 11, or to stick with Ibrahim Konate alongside Virgil Van Dijk. But apart from that, the team selection is largely expected to remain the same in the rest of the areas of the pitch.
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch will be another player to keep an eye on, as his importance to the midfield under Slot’s style of play has been made clear by the manager.
And with their attack spearheaded by a formidable trio of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and their main talisman, Mohamed Salah, they are going to provide a formidable test for Manchester United's defense. Salah’s goal record against Manchester United is more than any other team he has played since joining the Merseyside club, as he’s scored 15 goals in all competitions against their arch-rivals.
Going into the match, Liverpool, currently standing in fourth in the table, will be looking to make it three wins from three matches. Both to keep their current standing in the Top 4, but to also keep the pressure on title challengers Manchester City and Arsenal.
As for Manchester United, currently standing in 11th in the table, they will look to be getting back to winning ways after losing to Brighton this past Saturday.
But what will happen in this clash of these two Premier League giants? Will Manchester United return to winning ways at home in front of their beloved supporters? Or will Liverpool prevail over their long-time rivals, to continue to send a statement to the rest of the league of where they currently sit in mounting a title challenge?
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