By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 17 will see Liverpool host Manchester United for the famed North West Derby. Kick off is scheduled for 11:00 AM EST on Sunday.

Liverpool v Manchester United — 12/16/2018 1600 GMT

They don’t get much bigger than this when it comes to footballing derbies around the world. Between the rivalry on the pitch and the history between the two cities, Liverpool v Manchester United possesses most everything you could look for in creating an intense and emotional rivalry.

That this episode of the long running dispute finds itself nestled in one of Liverpool’s most important run of games just adds another layer to the already deeply enthralling storyline. As always, all threeLFC Tampa Bay locations will be open, serving, and showing the match. So, with the stakes and the drama at their highest, there really are no excuses to not join us in person. Now, the talking points.

Mourinho: Public Enemy #1

In my 18 years of being a Liverpool supporter, there have been plenty of characters that have earned my hatred. From Gary Neville and his rat faced, badge-kissing antics to Sergio Ramos and his Sunday League level dark artistry, there are a number of individuals that have slighted my beloved club and earned their place in my Book of Bellends. However, there is only one that has earned himself top spot. That man is Jose Mourinho.

I will admit that it didn’t start this way. My first introduction to “the Special One” was watching him run down the touchline at Old Trafford as his Porto side knocked Manchester United out on there way to a Champions League title. At that time, I was quite fond of Mourinho and his flamboyant and over the top nature. Then everything changed.

His success at Porto earned him a chance to manage Chelsea and oversee their Russian oligarch funded ascension to the top of English football. During this time, Mourinho played his part in paving the way for the new “Billionaire Era” of football and the Premier League that Liverpool struggled to keep up with. It was also at the beginning of this time frame that Mourinho attempted to unsettle Steven Gerrard and make him part of his collection of top dollar talents.

During his first season at Chelsea, Jose embedded himself deep in the dark crevices of my soul. First, there was the League Cup final where Steven Gerrard unfortunately scored an own goal. Mourinho could be seen running the touchline, with finger to mouth, shushing the Liverpool supporters in the Millennium Stadium as if his team had completed some piece of sublime football.

My feelings would only grow colder later on that season when, after his “unbeatable” Chelsea side succumbed to the magic of Anfield and the tactical nous of Rafa, Mourinho refused to humble himself and instead decided to bemoan Luis Garcia’s clearly over the line goal. A goal he still moans about to this day.

Since that season, my hatred for Mourinho has only grown. I hate how he parks busses out of fear of losing and then complains when smaller clubs do the same to his teams. I hate how he can never concede when he’s been outsmarted. I hate how the “J” in his named isn’t pronounced like an “H”. Most of all, I hate how he seems to enjoy ruining Liverpool’s day more than any other club.

Who can forget Mourinho and his Sunday League antics on that day in 2014?

In that sense, the hatred between Mourinho and Liverpool is a mutual one. Who can forget the scenes on that fateful day in 2014 when Jose acted as if denying Liverpool a Premier League title was just as good as winning one himself? I haven’t and I don’t think I ever will.

That deeply held, mutual distaste will be at the forefront for both sides come kickoff on Sunday. Liverpool supporters, myself included, will be ready to boo and hiss his antics whilst Jose Mourinho will undoubtedly come into the match looking not to lose. Jose Mourinho won’t care if his side refuse to play football as long as it means denying Liverpool Football Club and Liverpool supporters joy, because for Jose Mourinho that is as good as being successful. Which is all the more reasons to despise Jose Mourinho and all he stands for.

Symbolic Stepping Stone

Ferguson famously remarked that his goal when taking over Manchester United was to knock Liverpool off their “f****** perch”. Unfortunately, he ended up accomplishing just that. In the almost 3 decades that Ferguson was at United, he managed to usurp Liverpool’s position as the most dominant English club. Now, despite the current standings, it is Liverpool that are looking up at United.

It wouldn’t have been said quite as frankly as Ferguson, but the goal for FSG and the managers they’ve hired since they came in will have been to catch and pass United. From trophies, to finances, global brand recognition, and even stadium capacity, those around Liverpool Football Club would have known there was quite some distance between themselves and the, at the time, top dogs of English football.

Since then, the owners have done their part to slowly bridge the gap between Liverpool and United off the pitch. FSG have officially and finally brought Liverpool into the 21st century of football, and in doing so have the club in a position where they can legitimately compete on the pitch for honors on a consistent basis.

As the wobble of the post-Ferguson era at United continues to increase in intensity, now is the time for Liverpool to claw United back to their level and use their sinking ship as a stepping stone to reclaim their rightful spots as kings of English football. That all starts with results on the pitch.

Liverpool are winless in their last 8 matches in the league against United. In fact, the last time Liverpool managed to beat United at Anfield was in 2013 when Daniel Sturridge deflected a Daniel Agger header into the net to win 1–0 in the absence of a suspended Luis Suarez. As Jurgen Klopp said “it is time.”

Sturridge was the lone man on the scoresheet the last time Liverpool beat United at Anfield in the league

Winning on Sunday won’t mean that Liverpool have caught up to United on every level. It won’t mean we can compete financially yet nor that our trophy cabinet has more in it. However, being able to finally beat United in the league, and to overcome Mourinho’s aforementioned “avoid losing at all costs” tactics, is part of that process. It only makes sense that, in order to reestablish our position of dominance over United, we have to first be able to beat them.

Laying Down A Marker

On the back of the last talking point, and with the focus of this season, Sunday represents a massive opportunity for this squad to signal their intent. As previously mentioned, Liverpool are winless against United in the league since the 2013–14 season. In fact, Klopp has yet to manage a league victory against Liverpool’s most hated rivals.

If this squad intends on challenging for the title this season and becoming a team that can consistently compete at the top of the Premier League moving forward, then these are the type of matches they need to win. It may sound cliche, but it is true.

Too many times in the recent past Liverpool have allowed Manchester United to frustrate them in these games. Even when Liverpool have been higher up the table or playing a better brand of football, they’ve allowed United to get the better of them.

With the margins at the top of the table so tight and with the momentum built up in the last few matches, Liverpool can’t stand to suffer another frustrating set back at the hands of United. Though being the favorites in this match has often caused Liverpool headaches, Liverpool are favorites for a reason. Becoming a force and challenging for the title means being able to handle the label of favorites, even in a big derby match.

Prediction

We are back to the domestic table again this weekend where things are once again even. Last match, I managed to pick up 2 points for predicting a Liverpool win with a clean sheet whilst David only got the 1. We are now even, again, at 19 points.

This is going to be a tough one. On paper we should be able to easily sweep aside this United team, but that paper doesn’t account for the fact that Mourinho will almost certainly show up with no intentions of playing football. Because of that, Liverpool are going to have their work cut out for them if they want to get all 3 points.

I suspect we come out in the 4–2–3–1 as we should expect to see upwards of 70% of the possession throughout the match. Fabinho plays to go up against Fellaini who I have no doubt will be focus of many long balls out of United’s defense. I also suspect that we see Keita return to the line-up as his ability to beat players with the dribble and pick out a pass will be desperately needed to get around Jose’s bus. Also, I fancy Shaq returns to the lineup with hopes of re-creating something similar to his preseason performance against United. Lastly, I suspect Milner gets the nod at RB in the absence of Trent.

I really want to say we smash them. I want to say we come out and score early and just keep putting them into the net. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many of these derby encounters and too many Mourinho performances at Anfield to do so. It know it will be a grind and Liverpool will have to be ultra clever in order to get what they want out of it. However, as I just wrote that last sentence Irealized; football fandom isn’t about being rational. Who am I kidding? Salah and Mane score. We batter them. 3–0.

David’s Prediction: Jordan stole my score, so I’m going to have to mix it up in an effort to reclaim my place at the forefront of prediction title race. I think we’ll play the 4–3–3, almost as much out of stubbornness as tactical savvy. We will have a lot of the ball and the lion’s share of the chances. But we have to remember there is one thing that stops us from running up the score, one man playing against us that has impacted our clashes with them too often. David de Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he always save his best performances for Liverpool. I don’t expect Sunday to be any different. Additionally, I don’t expect Mourinho to send his team out to play football any more than Jordan does. We’re going to huff and we’ll puff, but alas we can only sneak one goal into the back of the net, a Sadio Mane left footed stunner. On the upside, they look like a team that doesn’t know each other’s names, nevermind one that can string together enough good passes to get past Virgil Van Dijk. Alisson has a boring day and the Reds are unlucky not to win by a margin greater than the 1–0 that sees them collect the 3 points.