Liverpool vs Manchester United: Desperate Reds Look to Snap Out of Funk Against Bitter Rivals
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
Pressure on Liverpool to end losing run
It’s a testament to how exciting the Premier League is this season where every week feels like it’s make or break for those chasing the title. And while it’s a long season, a loss for Liverpool in this match would be particularly damaging and could signal a potential crisis.
The Reds have lost their last three games on the trot across all competitions ahead of their meeting with Manchester United at Anfield. As a refresher, here’s what the Premier League table looks like coming into Sunday’s Northwest derby showdown:
| Position | Team | Matches played | Record (W-D-L) | Goal differential | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arsenal | 8 | 6-1-1 | +12 | 19 |
| 2. | Man City | 8 | 5-1-2 | +11 | 16 |
| 3. | Liverpool | 7 | 5-0-2 | +4 | 15 |
| 4. | Bournemouth | 8 | 4-3-1 | +3 | 15 |
| 5. | Tottenham | 7 | 4-2-1 | +8 | 14 |
| ... | |||||
| 10. | Everton | 8 | 3-2-3 | 0 | 11 |
| 11. | Man United | 7 | 3-1-3 | -2 | 10 |
| 12. | Newcastle | 8 | 2-3-3 | 0 | 9 |
Derbies are always tricky and Manchester United have managed to get some surprisingly decent results against Liverpool in their last five meetings. They drew this fixture 2-2 last season thanks to an Amad Diallo equalizer 10 minutes from full time. Prior to that, the Red Devils held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield in the 2023-24 season.
In fact, three of the last five meetings between these two have ended in stalemates, while they split the remaining two games.
However, given the Manchester United's shockingly poor away results under manager Ruben Amorim, the Liverpool faithful will be expecting nothing less than three points come Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United away results under Amorim (Premier League)
- Matches played: 17
- Record (W-D-L): 3-5-9
- Goals scored: 18
- Goals conceded: 30
What’s at stake?
It can’t be overstated just how important it is that Liverpool get back to winning ways here. And not just that, they’ll need the performance to be convincing. The truth is that Liverpool haven’t played particularly well in the 2025-26 season so far and were bailed out with a series of late winners. It’s seemingly been catching up with the league champions over the last few weeks and there appears to be some serious defensive issues.
On the attacking side, the big-money moves for Isak and Wirtz have yet to bear fruit. While the players are certainly somewhat to blame, it’s manager Arne Slot that will wind up on the receiving end of the majority of the backlash.
Liverpool haven’t lost four consecutive matches across all competitions since November 2014.
With Arsenal and Manchester City both taking care of business on Saturday, it’s now up to the Reds to keep up the pace. Victory would keep them within one point of Arsenal while a draw or defeat would see them fall at least three points behind.
As for Manchester United, they’ll be aiming to continue the positive momentum after earning two wins from their last three outings. The win over Sunderland before the international break has bought Amorim some more time. Had they lost that, there was a chance the Portuguese manager could have been dismissed. While United aren’t likely to win this match, the expectation will be that they keep this one competitive. Our experts are expecting this one to be a shootout! See the full breakdown in our Liverpool vs Manchester United prediction.
Matchup to watch: Salah vs Shaw
Luke Shaw will get the nod at the left center back in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, meaning he’ll spend much of his afternoon sticking closely to the always dangerous Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has suffered through a slow start to the current campaign, although it’s not something completely foreign to the 2024-25 PFA Player of the Year. The good news for Liverpool fans is that Salah scored a brace for Egypt in his most recent international outing, and will be returning to his club in high spirits.
Luke Shaw has started all seven matches for Manchester United as a center back and has put in mixed performances. His worst outing was undoubtedly against Man City, where he was unable to cope with the Citizens’ tricky wingers in Doku and Silva. He could be in for a similarly tough day on Sunday, so left wing back Patrick Dorgu will have to track back and provide cover for the Englishman. Shaw ranks in the bottom 10% of defenders with only 47.9% of his duels won. He’s also been dribbled past three times and ranks 10th among center backs with 1.3 fouls committed per 90.
