BERBATOV EXPECTING FIREWORKS UP FRONT
All eyes will be focused on the mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash between Manchester United and Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. Former United and Tottenham striker DIMITAR BERBATOV runs the rule over the two front lines he says can make it a thriller
LIVERPOOL SADIO MANE & MO SALAH
The key to their effectiveness is Liverpool know how to press. Whether they have a signal, either verbal or in the way they move towards the ball, everybody follows.
They do that better than United. Mane and Salah are unbelievably quick players but not only that, they are smart with it. They know how to explore the spaces. Some quick players need room so they can run, but these two are brilliant at dealing in tight spaces. They have the ability to do the unexpected.
Salah has 13 league goals this season and while Mane, with six, has not found the net as much as he would like, they are a huge threat. The match-up between
Mane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka is going to be fascinating. Some might say that Jurgen Klopp’s demands can only be answered for so long before burn-out. Both Salah and Mane are 28 and they have put in a huge effort for so long for Liverpool.
ROBERTO FIRMINO
The Brazilian is not as quick as the other two but is intelligent and reads the game really well, dropping back and giving the ball to other players. You can judge a striker by his goals but there is so much more to that role – watch Firmino’s ability to create space for the other two. He is so often running into spaces to free up for others. He is almost like a nine-and-ahalf but he could play in midfield. He is that connecting piece.
MANCHESTER UNITED
ANTHONY MARTIAL & MARCUS RASHFORD
A very different pairing to the Liverpool duo. Rashford has everything. He has pace but the technique as well. The only thing Marcus needs to work on is his finishing touch. Sometimes when he is in the final position, or about to take the shot, he needs to be better at taking that quick decision. He is young at 23 and has a lot of football ahead of him, so he is going to get better and better.
The same goes for France forward Anthony, who is two years older. People criticise him a lot but he has quality in abundance and he can show how good he really is in the next few years. He does not press the ball very convincingly – his strong suit is running at people with the ball at his feet, especially in the penalty box.
EDINSON CAVANI
Manchester United’s new Ryan Giggs! That’s not with his style of play but in the professionalism he brings to the club – still going strong at the top level at the age of 33. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer understood what he was bringing in with Edinson – and that is intelligence on the pitch. He knows just when to run into the channel, and knowing when not to in order to save his strength for the right moment.
With Giggs it was part DNA, part professionalism, part a desire to show the young kids he could still do it and 100 per cent a love of the game. Cavani is the same and has the knowledge of how to unlock a defence like Liverpool’s.
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