Sowetan

Man U hope to disrupt Liverpool rhythm

Red Devils the only team to grab points from Reds

-

London – Manchester United are the only club to take points off runaway leaders Liverpool in the English Premier League this season and they will try and do so again in Sunday’s match at Anfield.

Even the dreamiest of dreamers from the Old Trafford Theatre of Dreams would recognise, however, that it would be against the odds to come away from Merseyside with another positive result after the 1-1 draw in October.

One of the fiercest rivalries in English football has been one-sided of late.

Liverpool, the European and world club champions and on course to become Premier League invincible­s, have won their last 18 matches at Anfield and not lost at home in the top flight since April 2017.

The Reds have 61 points from a possible 63 and are on a club record 38-match unbeaten run – their last defeat coming in January last year against Manchester City.

Juergen Klopp’s men have also scored in every league match this campaign, equalling the club’s best streak from the start of a season while going 585 minutes without conceding – six successive clean sheets.

United have lost six times this season and are fifth in the league, 27 points adrift of their arch-rivals having played one game more. Klopp, however, is preparing for another tricky challenge.

“The rest of the season is still quite long and we have a lot of tough games to play, the next one especially tough, and we have to make sure we are ready for that,” he said after Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Sunday.

Second-placed Manchester City, the champions, host Crystal Palace tomorrow while Leicester City, third, are at Burnley in Sunday’s early kickoff.

Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur travel to Watford, revitalise­d under new manager Nigel Pearson, to revive fight for a top four finish. –

 ?? / GETTY IMAGES / ROBBIE JAY BARRATT ?? David de Gea of Manchester United stretches his leg to block Sadio Mane of Liverpool during their previous league encounter in Liverpool in December 2018.
/ GETTY IMAGES / ROBBIE JAY BARRATT David de Gea of Manchester United stretches his leg to block Sadio Mane of Liverpool during their previous league encounter in Liverpool in December 2018.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa