Premier League betting – Liverpool vs Man Utd

Liverpool vs Man Utd betting odds, tips & free bets

Liverpool: League Position: 6th, League Form: WWWDL

The Dalglish revival was pegged back a touch last Sunday at Upton Park. Overcome by pace and intensity, Liverpool barely threatened relegation battling West Ham and looked blunt in attack. A reality check before the clash with rivals Manchester United? Or just a blip?

To be fair to the side, they had finished a Europa League tie only 3 days earlier, and may benefit from not having to play this midweek. It also gave Steven Gerrard a game to return to full fitness, and although mostly ineffective in the game, he also stayed the whole 90 minutes. And Suarez got another match under his belt, creating the Liverpool goal with skill, pace and trickery that will cause problems for a weakened United backline.

They will, however, have to convert back to 4-4-2 this weekend with Martin Kelly, one of the seasons success stories, out injured. They looked worse for it in the game against West Ham, and it seriously affected their attacking width. Another concern would be their lack of goals, with Meireles their top goalscorer in the league with five.

Manchester United: League Position: 1st, League Form: WLWWL

An intensity filled, attacking first half at Chelsea looked set to give United a massive three points on the road, and one hand firmly on the Premiership trophy. Instead, they wilted to defeat in the second half, and, although refereeing decisions went against them, their weakness on the road continued.

It was their first loss of the season against a side in the top half, and usually Ferguson’s sides wake up in the big games. This weekend they’ll be looking for the lesser lights to shine, as Nemanja Vidic’s silly second yellow leaves him suspended for this match, joining Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans on the absentee list. The ever-improving Chris Smalling will be joined by Wes Brown, a good defensive duo, but by no means a title winning one.

The positives are all at Wayne Rooney’s feet. He missed a couple of great chances, but took his goal with the class we all know he has. And at least now he’s finding himself in the position to miss chances. His manager says the striker scores in bursts, and if he can do just that then he could lead his side to victory on Sunday.

Match Prediction: Manchester United Win – 2.63 Bet Fred

Without Vidic and Ferdinand United look a weaker prospect defensively, and this may force Ferguson to consider defending with his attack. Dimitar Berbatov has fond memories of playing Liverpool this season after a stunning hat trick in the reverse tie, whilst Rooney will always be inspired against Liverpool. Add to that the growing maturity of winger Nani, and United have an attacking trio to scare any defence, with Hernandez waiting to be thrown into the mix too.

The Liverpool defence had only conceded six goals in the ten matches Dalglish had been in charge before last Sunday, but West Ham proved that their defence can be got at with the dual threat of Piquonne and Ba.

For Liverpool, the talk is of whether Andy Carroll can feature. If he does, he will certainly use his presence to threaten the thrown together United centre backs, and it’s easy to see him being too much for them to handle. The movement of Suarez will also be interesting to watch. His acceleration and flair make him a hassle to compete with, but he was silenced for the majority of the game on Sunday.

The onus is on United here, two games without a win will give Arsenal the chance to go top. This should force their hand, and possibly make the game more exciting than the usual big side clash. If Liverpool do take the lead, it may be important to know that they’ve dropped 19 points from winning positions, the second highest total in the league.

Highlighted Bets:-

Over/Under: Over 2.5 Goals – 2.25 Stan James
First Goalscorer: Nani – 10.00 Stan James
Correct Score: 2-1 Manchester United – 11.00 Sky Bet
To Come From Behind and Draw or Win: Manchester United – 5.5 William Hill

By Chris Wilkerson

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