By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 27 has the Reds travelling up the East Lancs to take on Man United at Old Trafford. Kick off is schedule for 9:05 AM EST on Sunday.

Manchester United v Liverpool — 02/24/2019 1405 GMT

This is one of my favorite weekends of every football calendar. The opportunity to go up to Old Trafford and try to inflict some pain on the collection of unbearable tits that are Manchester United fans. It will be tense, it will be nerve wracking, but ultimately these are the fixtures we look forward to as Liverpool supporters. As always, all 3 LFC Tampa Bay locations will be open and showing the match. London Heights has managed to skirt the Sunday morning liquor laws of Hillsborough county and will be serving starting at 8 a.m. Pokey’s will require you to show your member card in order to get in. Pinellas County has long ago gotten with the 21st century, so there are no such hoops to jump through for those of you heading down to the Horse and Jockey. Now, with all the covered, let’s get into the talking points.

Who The F*** Are Man United?

Since sacking Mourinho, Man United have appeared to turn their season around. In fact, since the firing of “The Special One’, which coincided with their 3–1 loss at Anfield, United have gone on a 9 game unbeaten run in the league with 8 wins and 1 draw. They’ve also managed to knock both Arsenal and Chelsea out of the FA Cup in back to back rounds. It would seem that Ole Gunnar has used his magical hobbit powers to bring the “real” United back.

A closer examination of their run does raise some questions though. Firstly, mixed in with their domestic success is a 2–0 loss at home in the Champions League to a PSG side without 2 of its famed front 3. Also, their one draw in the last 9 league games came at home to Burnley, where they had to score 2 goals late to rescue the point. Lastly, 7 of their 8 wins in the last 9 league games came against sides that are currently in the bottom half of the table. Though this doesn’t necessarily detract from their recent surge to the top 4, it does call into question whether or not United are as good as all of their backers and sympathizers claim they are.

With the Reds coming to town in the midst of a record breaking season and challenging for the title, it will be a litmus test of how good this United side actually is. We will find out if they are actually a title challenging side that was hampered by an egotistical manager who lost the plot, or if their current position in the table is a fair reflection. So, as much as the pressure is on Liverpool to keep their title challenge running at full speed, there will also be pressure for this United side to prove they’re as good as their recent turn around suggests.

Must Win Or Don’t Lose

I realize the point I’m about to present will be a tad bit controversial. So, I’m going to preface it with this: Liverpool are more than capable of going to Old Trafford and getting the three points AND I, just like every other Liverpool supporter around the globe, want and expect them to do just that. However, given the margins in the league and the scenario that Liverpool find themselves in, a draw away to United wouldn’t be a terrible thing.

Results at Old Trafford have always been hard to come by for Liverpool

This is our last “Big 6” away fixture for the rest of the season. Though we still have Chelsea and Tottenham on the schedule, both of the matches will be played at Anfield. With City playing in the Carabao Cup final on the weekend, this trip up to United is our game in hand. With City even on a points, a draw would mean we claim top spot for our own with the same number of games played as City. Once again, a draw away to United wouldn’t be a terrible thing.

If this fixture had been played in October, like the Chelsea away match, we would all be open to the idea of a point at Old Trafford. It is a ground that Liverpool have struggled at mightily, as United have struggled at Anfield. In the 19 away matches in the Premier League since the turn of the millennium, Liverpool have only come away with all 3 points 5 times. The Reds have also only managed 2 draws in the League in that time frame. This all just goes to show that going to Old Trafford has always been a tough task for Liverpool and that we shouldn’t be outraged should things be level at full time.

In the wider context of a whole season, getting a draw at United isn’t by any means a bad result. We shouldn’t let the current situation the team find themselves in force us into adding more pressure onto the match than already is there for the lads. A draw would still see us claim top spot as our own and still keep the title race in our control. Even in the 70’s and 80’s, when Liverpool were collecting league titles for fun, those great Liverpool sides only managed 4 wins at Old Trafford.

Once again, of course I have faith that this Liverpool squad are far more talented than this United team and I want them to do the business. On top of that, I believe they have a point to prove and that winning at United would be a huge signal of the growth of the club and squad. However, if we do only manage a point, I will resist the temptation to feel as if everything has gone to shit and recognize the value of a point away to the scum in the wider context of a full season.

We’re Due One

The last two victories at Old Trafford for Liverpool featured Stevie G camera kisses

Now that I’ve spent 5 paragraphs trying to temper expectations and hopefully quelling any desires to meltdown post match, allow me to go 180 degrees and hype everyone up. We’re due one up there. Though wins at Old Trafford for Liverpool are hard to come by, they do happen and this Liverpool squad are the best side to head up that way in a decade. Plus, it’s not just a gut feeling backing this sense that we’re due one, the mystical omens are also on our side.

Firstly, our last two wins at Old Trafford are in 13/14 and 08/09. Both of those seasons featured title challenging Liverpool sides and are also five years apart. Going on the every five years model, that would mean Liverpool are due a win this season. Add on top of that the last two times we did the league double over United were the 08/09 and 13/14 seasons, the trip this Sunday sets up to allow the Reds their first chance a the league double on the mystical every 5 years schedule.

This season has the same feel about it as the 08/09 and 13/14 seasons. A Liverpool side going along, doing the business, and genuinely pushing for a title with the massive roadblock of a away trip to Old Trafford. In both of those previously mentioned campaigns, those Liverpool squads easily brushed off the challenge and continued on their merry way. That this fixture lands at the same point of the season, with similar implications, and with the squad in a similar scenario has me buying into the omens presented. We’re due one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all the forces conspire on our behalf this Sunday.

Prediction

We are back to the domestic table, and I have been waiting patiently to write this. Last time out, against Bournemouth, I managed to pick up all 5 points for correctly predicting a Liverpool win by the scoreline of 5–0. OH YA BEAUTY, WHAT A HIT SON, WHAT A HIT! David himself got a point for predicting a Liverpool win. I am now on 35 points to David’s 32. Scenes.

I suspect we come out in the 4–3–3 again as I think United can’t afford to do anything other than go full force for this one. They can’t win the title so the next best thing for their supporters will be to ruin our chances. So, with the expectation that United give it a real go, the 4–3–3 sets us up to counter.

The only real question for the starting 11 comes down to who gets the ax for Fabinho to move back into the midfield. Jordan Henderson did an amazing job midweek against Bayern and is also the club captain, whilst Gini looked absolutely gassed when the final whistle went on Wednesday. Because of that, I think Fab moves forward to take play the 6 and Gini is moved to the substitutes bench. The rest of the team picks itself.

On the back of my last talking point, I really do think we are just due one up there. I also think the lads realize this is a real opportunity to throw down the gauntlet and really make it known how good they are. Also, Klopp has yet to win at United in the league, so it gives the chance for vengeful Klopp to make another appearance. With all that in mind, I’m going out on a limb (not really) and saying we smash them. 3–0.

David’s Prediction: Last time out we faced them at their lowest. And yet, even at their lowest, we didn’t manage a clean sheet against them. Now that they’re playing up to a level more fitting for a Manchester side and at home with a chance to doom our title hopes, I honestly can’t see them going without a goal. But that said, I think they also have shown frailty against quality attacking sides and we are that. I expect either Wijnauldum or Keita to give way for Fabinho’s return to midfield, but it doesn’t really matter. This one is setting up to be a belter, an absolute wild one. I’ve not predicted any of these right yet, but I’m going to go with my instincts and say the Reds walk out the victors after a 3–2 thriller.