English Premier
2011-10-15 - Liverpool vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 15 October 2011 - Kickoff 12:45pm
This game is live on TV
This remains the biggest game in English football as the two most successful clubs clash once again- get ready for the statistics of being watched by 600 million viewers worldwide, clips of Steven Gerrard kissing the camera at Old Trafford, images of Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson ...
Liverpool
The goal for Liverpool this season was to try and break back into the top 4 and returning to the Champions League and they are on the right path although there are plenty of challengers to those positions. Kenny Dalglish invested heavily in the squad over the Summer so there are still some inconsistencies in their performances, but generally it has been a very positive start.
Liverpool are 5th in the Premier League having gained 13 points from their first 7 Premier League games this season. While the Reds have remained a bit of an enigma away from home, at Anfield they are 2-1-0, scoring 6 goals and conceding 3.
After back to back League defeats at Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur, it looked like the early season positives had been removed from Liverpool, but they have recovered to win 3 games in a row in all competitions including a 0-2 win at Everton last time out. They have lost just 1 of their last 14 home games under Kenny Dalglish, winning 9 of those including against the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United.
Dalglish has a few injury concerns at the back with Dan Agger, Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly all facing a race against time to be fit for the game. Luis Suarez is travelling back from South America but should be given the start, while Steven Gerrard is likely to make his first start of the season, possibly just behind Suarez in a 5 man midfield.
Manchester United
Manchester United keep churning out the results, but Sir Alex Ferguson must have been concerned with the defensive performance of the side in the week leading up to the international break. Stoke City, Basel and Norwich City created a hatful of chances against United, and Ferguson had been openly disappointed with how they have been performing at the back.
United still sit on top of the Premier League having picked up 19 points from the first 21 on offer, but they did see their goal difference advantage over Manchester City reduced to just 1 goal and Chelsea are only 3 points behind. It was United's away form in the League that let them down last season, but they have started with a 2-1-0 record this year, scoring 8 goals and conceding 2.
It has to be said, however, that United picked up the same number of points from those away games at West Brom, Bolton and Stoke last season as they have this season.
The Red Devils have conceded just 5 goals in their opening 7 games in the League but that does not tell the story of the number of clear cut chances Norwich and Chelsea had in the last 2 games at Old Trafford. Basel showed some of the deficiencies in the defending when they scored 3 at Old Trafford, while United have kept just 4 clean sheets in their last 16 games in all competitions. The team are unbeaten in their last 6 away games in all competitions.
Injuries continue to take their toll in defensive positions for Sir Alex Ferguson, although Nemanja Vidic should return to the side after he played for Serbia on Tuesday night. Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand should also be available, although Chris Smalling is unlikely to make his return. David de Gea should return in goal in place of Anders Lindegaard.
Head to Head
Manchester United have not had much success in recent visits to Anfield, losing their last 3 visits to the cauldron.
Liverpool won this fixture 3-1 last season and even that scoreline does not indicate how comfortable they were.
There has only been 1 draw in the last 25 games between the teams, and the last 13 games have seen one of the sides walk away with the victory.
Prediction
I have always circled this fixture first when the new lists are compiled and released in June, but I am not looking forward to it because Manchester United are not playing well enough, in my opinion, to get a result here.
The most worrying aspect for me has been the lack of desire in the last 3 visits to Anfield and all 3 times United have been beaten while putting in poor performances.
Liverpool seem to get a lot more fired up for these games at the moment, and it reminds me of the 1980s when United would routinely give Liverpool a tough time even though they were the better team. On those occasions, the United players seemed to be more 'up for it' than their counterparts and it has been the other way around in recent seasons.
Defensively, United have been suspect and that was brutally exposed by Basel, while Norwich could so easily have score two or three at Old Trafford on another day.
Liverpool definitely have the players that can expose any shortcomings in defence for United, and even the likely return of Nemanja Vidic may not be enough to turn the tide considering his recent performances against Liverpool (2 sending offs in his last 3 games at Anfield).
All in all, the layers are completely overestimating United's chances of getting a result here, again in my opinion, and Liverpool are vastly underrated.
I rarely, if ever, back against United, but I have had a bad feeling about this game for a while now and I think Liverpool are definitely the play. I'll be supporting United heavily and won't care if I lose my cash on this one, but Liverpool are the right call at the prices- they should never be a 2-1 shot against United at home considering the performances of the sides at home and away respectively, and United's recent record at Anfield.
They have shown more desire than United (hate to say that) in recent games at Anfield and I think Dalglish will have them chomping at the bit to get at United immediately and put the pressure on the young goalkeeper.
My biggest concern is that United get hit with an embarrassing scoreline. The heart longs for United, but the betting head says Liverpool are far too high a price.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
