Trophyless Ole must beat Liverpool
The FA Cup draw loves to throw up some surprises and to the probable disgust of Jurgen Klopp his side will have to face Premier League leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford in just the fourth round. The German manager has shown a disregard for the cup competitions in recent years and the hierarchy at the club have made it clear that they would prefer it if there was only one English cup competition. Liverpool’s form has taken a nosedive amongst fixture congestion in recent weeks and therefore this match comes at a bad time, an FA Cup crown would mean a lot more to trophyless Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Red Devils.
Squad depth
Neither side boasts outstanding quality in the reserves, Liverpool arguably could replace more first team players and not feel a major decrease in performance having been forced to adapt to the long term loss of Virgil Van Dijk this season. However without Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah they are nowhere near as threatening, similarly take Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford out of the United forwardline and it is a completely different proposition. My angle for this matchup is based off of preempting the selection of the lineups and how seriously each manager will take this cup tie. With fans in the ground I am sure that this would have the intensity and ferocity of any match between these two great clubs, however in the absence of all that it becomes at risk of being a game that neither team wants to play.
Liverpool have one less match to recover from midweek Premier League action for this encounter and in that I can see Klopp rotating a lot. The Reds face Tottenham Hotspur just four days after this fixture whereas Manchester United welcome rock bottom Sheffield United to Old Trafford, the schedule is kinder for the hosts.
Goals?
Hard to call so I will be staying away from the goal lines, Liverpool’s potency has dropped off alarmingly in front of goal, failing to score in their last three league outings.
- United have scored in eight of 10.
- United have conceded in five of 10.
- United have seen both teams score in four of 10.
- United have seen over 2.5 goals in four of 10.
- Liverpool have scored in seven of 10.
- Liverpool have conceded in six of 10.
- Liverpool have seen both teams score in five of 10.
- Liverpool have seen over 2.5 goals in four of 10.
This is a big opportunity for Solskjaer to buy himself more time and continue to make it look like he is doing a much better job than he really is in Manchester.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
A late Bruno Fernandes free kick won it for United, an excellent cup tie 3-2 Red Devils.