English Premier
2013-01-13 - Manchester United vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 13 January 2013 - Kick Off 1:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
This remains the biggest club game in English football and Sir Alex Ferguson has been speaking about how he hopes the football is being spoken about and not anything else this weekend. Manchester United will be focusing on extending their lead over rivals Manchester City in the Premier League as City visit Arsenal after this match is completed.
Manchester United are on top of the Premier League and a productive festive period allowed them to extend their lead to 7 points over Manchester City. United have been very effective at Old Trafford where they are 9-0-1 this season, scoring 28 goals and conceding 13 in those games, while their 17 League wins is 4 more than anyone else in the League.
A late Robin Van Persie goal kept Manchester United alive in the FA Cup last weekend and also extended United's unbeaten run to 7 games of which they have won 5. United have now won 8 of their last 9 games at Old Trafford in all competitions, the exception being a 0-1 loss to Cluj in the Champions League with a much rested side.
Sir Alex Ferguson is very coy with his injury problems at United, but he did mention that Wayne Rooney and Anderson would miss this game, but don't be surprised if Rooney is on the bench in this one. Nani is back in training and could also be available.
Liverpool
It was an embarrassing situation for Liverpool last season at Old Trafford when Luis Suarez refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand despite telling senior management that the would. A lot of things have changed at Anfield since that game a year ago, and it does seem Brendan Rodgers is getting more out of his side now that he has had six months to stamp his authority at the club.
Liverpool are 8th in the Premier League table and their 31 points means they are 7 points behind the Champions League places. While most wouldn't have figured them to reach one of the top four places, Rodgers did say recently that he is challenging for 2nd in the table so he has 14 points to make up on Manchester City. The side have a 3-4-3 away record this season, scoring 17 goals but conceding 16.
The side have won 3 straight games in all competitions and have now won 4 of their last 5, although the exception was a 3-1 loss at Stoke City. Liverpool have actually won 4 of their last 5 away games in all competitions and won 2 of their last 3 away Premier League games.
Jose Enrique and Fabio Borini are both out in an otherwise full squad to choose from. Daniel Sturridge may make his Premier League debut for the side after scoring in the FA Cup last weekend.
Head to Head
Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-12 at Anfield earlier this season in a controversial game.
Man United have won 4 in a row at Old Trafford against Liverpool in all competitions since a 1-4 loss in 2009.
That means Manchester United have won 8 of their last 9 home games against Liverpool.
Prediction
This should be a fascinating encounter between the two biggest clubs in England, but it is one where Manchester United should be able to continue their recent dominance of their old rivals.
Manchester United are just playing too well at the moment and Liverpool are a little inconsistent in their performances away from home. I think Man United will create enough chances for the likes of Javier Hernandez and Robin Van Persie to win the game.
However, I am not a fan of taking the home side at odds on to win and instead will focus on opposing their porous defence that can be exploited by the likes of Luis Suarez.
United have only had 3 clean sheets in the Premier League at Old Trafford, while Liverpool have scored in all but 2 away games in the League.
3 of United's last 4 home wins over Liverpool have come with both sides scoring at least once, the exception being a game when Liverpool were reduced to ten men after half an hour.
Only 2 of the last 11 games between these English giants has finished with one of them grabbing a clean sheet, so taking Ladbrokes offer of 3.25 that both sides score and Manchester United win looks a decent shout.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Both teams to score and Manchester United Win (Match Result with both teams to score) @ 3.25 (Ladbrokes)
