Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are in something resembling disarray – starting the weekend 12th in the table, knowing defeat against Liverpool, would see them fall 18 points behind their rivals and with even more pressure growing on the manager to turn things around.
The manager is dealing with a number of injury headaches ahead of Manchester United’s crunch clash with Liverpool after confirming goalkeeper David De Gea is likely to be sidelined. Sergio Romero would come in if De Gea misses out on Sunday, when United will look to kickstart their campaign.
Star midfielder Paul Pogba is definitely out of the match with an ongoing ankle issue; De Gea pulled up with a groin complaint on international duty.
Anthony Martial and Aaron Wan-Bissaka could return against Liverpool on Sunday, but question marks hang over the likes of Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot and Mason Greenwood.
Michael Owen’s prediction
Michael Owen told BetVictor: ‘Liverpool will equal Manchester City’s record of 18 successive league wins if they win at Old Trafford.
‘Jurgen Klopp’s side have ridden their luck in recent weeks, but I expect them to have too much pace and aggression for this United side, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hopeful that he can call on the services of at least a couple of his key players returning from injury or illness.’
What time is kick-off?
The only Premier League game of the day will begin at 4.30pm – Sunday, October 20.
The match will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HD.
In pics
Ryan Giggs, right, scored at Anfield as United raced into a three-goal half-time lead only for Liverpool to fight back and draw 3-3. (Malcolm Croft/PA)Eric Cantona’s penalty secured a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in 1995 as the Frenchman returned from a nine-month ban. (John Giles/PA)Gary Pallister stunned the Kop as the United defender scored twice in a 3-1 win at Anfield in April 1997. (John Giles/PA)Michael Owen’s equaliser earned Liverpool a point at Old Trafford in April 1998 – although he was sent off minutes later. (Rui Vieira/PA)Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher scored two own goals in the same game as United won 3-2 at Anfield in September 1999. (Phil Noble/PA)Danny Murphy hit the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat United in December 2000 for their first Premier League win in the fixture for five years. (Owen Humphreys/PA)Murphy would repeat his heroics of a year earlier as he once again hit the only goal as Liverpool won at Old Trafford. (Phil Noble/PA)Much-maligned United striker Diego Forlan scored twice in a win a Liverpool, capitalising on an error by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek in December 2002. (John Giles/PA)Ruud van Nistelrooy scored two penalties as United beat 10-man Liverpool 4-0 in April 2003. (Martin Rickett/PA)Murphy, for the third time, scored the winner at Old Trafford – this time a penalty in a 1-0 win in 2004. (Phil Noble/PA)Wayne Rooney grabbed the winner on his first trip to Anfield as a Manchester United player. (PA Archive)Rio Ferdinand headed in a last-minute winner against Liverpool in January 2006. (Martin Rickett/PA)John O’Shea would follow in Ferdinand’s footsteps with a late winner at Anfield the following year. (Peter Byrne/PA)Fernando Torres opened the scoring as Liverpool won 4-1 at Manchester United in March 2009. (Peter Byrne/PA)Dimitar Berbatov hit a hat-trick to down Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford in 2010. (Gareth Copley/PA)Dirk Kuyt, right, would return the favour later in the season – scoring all three as Liverpool won 3-1 at Anfield. (Peter Byrne/PA)Steven Gerrard scored two penalties as Liverpool beat David Moyes’ Manchester United 3-0 in March 2014. (Peter Byrne/PA)Gerrard was sent off just seconds after coming off the bench in what would be his last appearance against Manchester United. (Peter Byrne/PA)Anthony Martial marked his Manchester United debut with a fine goal in a 3-0 win over Liverpool in September 2015. (Martin Rickett/PA)Marcus Rashford scored twice as United beat Liverpool 2-1 in March 2018. (Martin Rickett/PA)Xherdan Shaqiri, centre, scored twice off the bench as Liverpool secured a comfortable 3-1 win at home to United last season. (Peter Byrne/PA)The defeat turned out to be Jose Mourinho’s final game in charge of United before he was sacked days later. (Peter Byrne/PA)
