North-West Derby

Manchester United FC vs Liverpool FC
Premier League Matchday 18
Sunday, January 15th 11:00am NBCSN
Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Happy New Year everybody! I hope that you’ve all had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter and lots of football!  I know I did!  Whelp, it’s good to be back and writing once again as there’s been much that’s happened since I posted Holiday Footballing Shorts a couple of weeks ago.  For starters, Real Madrid won the Fifa Club World Cup by beating Kashima Antlers in an extra-time thriller.  Milan upset rivals Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana, followed by Chelsea tying a Premier League record 13 consecutive wins, Ronaldo claiming the Fifa Best Player of the Year Award, and so much more.  It truly was a celebratory holiday footballing season.  But that was just the beginning folks, because the second half of the campaign is now upon us.  The time when league races and European Cup competitions truly take shape, painting an exciting and beautiful picture of the beautiful game.  So with that, let’s ring in the New Year with a matchup that is sure to delight in Manchester United vs Liverpool!  I’ll provide you with a short synopsis of the North-West Derby, highlight the leading first half story to come out of Manchester and Liverpool, reveal my keys to the match, and provide my match prediction.

North-West Derby

The North-West Derby pitting the Red Devils against the Reds is without question the biggest rivalry in England and one of the largest, most televised matches in football.  What makes this game so fierce, so competitive is that these two clubs are within close proximity of each other, within roughly an hour’s drive between the famed Anfield to Old Trafford.  In addition, and most importantly, is that these are the two winningest clubs in English football.  Manchester United hold a record 20 Premier League Titles, 12 FA Cups, and 21 FA Community Shields, whilst also winning the Champions League on three occasions.  Meanwhile Liverpool ranks second with 18 Premier League triumphs, has won the Champions League five times, which is the most by an English club, and earned a record 8 League Cups.  Lastly, when these two squads actually square off, it’s been heated, competitive, and the atmosphere is top shelf.  The all-time record favors the Red Devils as they’ve won 79 games to Liverpool’s 65, with an additional 53 matches drawn.  Thus, it’s easy to see why this match is such a highly anticipated affair for fans not only in England, but all across the globe.

First Half Stories

With 17 games into the campaign, both clubs have had success so far this season. Liverpool definitely more so as they sit second behind Chelsea atop of the Prem League table, but Man U is finally hitting its stride as they’ve won 11 and drawn 3 over the past 14 matches in all competitions since losing 2-1 to Fenerbahce in Istanbul during the Europa League.  With that said, there are several reasons for their achievements, but none more impactful than the performance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the Red Devils and the presence of Jurgen Klopp for the Reds.  When it was announced that Zlatan was heading to Manchester from PSG, there were significant mixed feelings from the English media and footballing pundits from near and far.  Many were excited of the notation of seeing Ibra finally play in the Premier League and with one England’s top clubs, but conversely even more people thought he’d flounder due to his age.  He’s 35, which is elder-statesmen status for footballers.  Couple that with making a move to one of the most physical leagues in Europe and the naysayers were sure to be vocal.  But they were wrong, at least thus far, as Zlatan has led United up front, scoring with regularity.  He’s scored 18 goals in 33 matches and provided four assists this season. Also, 13 of those 18 goals have come in the Premier League, which puts him one behind Diego Costa for top goalscorer. Needless to say, Zlatan’s superb performance has kept the skeptics at bay, which he’s said as much in a recent interview, “I don’t know how many years I have left playing football. I came to the Premier League and everyone thought it would not be possible, but like always, I make them eat their balls.” 

As for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp has truly excelled since taking the reigns as Reds manager a year ago. As aforementioned, Liverpool are currently sitting second in the Prem League and possessing a Champions League birth with it.  That within itself is a coup considering the Reds haven’t participated in Europe’s top competition since the 2014-15 season where they disappointingly finished third in the group and failing to advance to the knockout stages.  This stellar start is thanks to Klopp changing the culture and philosophy of the club last year.  It started with him introducing intense workouts as soon as he was named the skipper.  At first, the media was second guessing him as countless players were sustaining injuries, which the media blamed on the fierce workout regimen.  But it was clear that the Liverpool squad was simply not fit, at least not enough for what kind of gameplan Klopp was going to implement, his famed gegenpress.  The gegenpress is a style of play that Klopp achieved much success with during his time at Borussia Dortmund.  Its an extremely aggressive style involving lots of running and pressing of the ball, forcing the opponent into mistakes inside its own half, and resulting in a bevy of goalscoring opportunites.  But, with the rest of last season and an entire off-season to work with, Klopp eventually got his team fit and gelling stylistically in time for this campaign where Liverpool are pressing, scoring in bunches, and picking up points game in and game out.

Keys to the Match

For the Red Devils it’s the play of Zlatan and his counterparts Paul Pogba and David De Gea.  Ibra and Pogba linked up late against Middlesborough last week to produce an outstanding equalizer for Anthony Martial to slam home.  And if United expect to come away victorious, these two men have to produce the goods.  We know about Zlatan, but what about Pogba?  He’s the world’s most expensive player and he’s now playing like it.  After struggling to adapt early on, Pogba’s now creating chances, as well as putting ‘em away.  Defensively for United, De Gea is likely to have a busy day at the office as Liverpool is sure to create chances with its gegenpress.  Will the two-time Man U Player of the Year be up to the challenge?

Liverpool meanwhile will look to Roberto Firminoto push the tempo of play and provide the goalscoring opportunites.  The honice will be even more on him as Philippe Coutinho is just coming back from injury and Sadio Mane will be absent due to the African Cup of Nations.  Firmino is perhaps Klopp’s favorite player, because as a forward he has the motor, desire, and work ethic to hustle his way around the park setting the tone defensively up the pitch, something that the arguably more talented Daniel Sturridge does not do.  If Firmino can successfully pressure Man U’s backline, then goals are sure to follow.  Defensively, It could be a nightmare for Liverpool as they have to deal with Zlatan, Pogba, and the pacy Martial and Marcus Rashford.  The Reds are poor at the back, quite frankly the club’s achilles heel.  With that said, Liverpool was able to put up a clean sheet against Manchester City, a club with a bevy of firepower.  Question is, can the backline surprise and rise to the occasion once again or will they perform poorly as they do more times than not?

LSB Prediction:

The North-West Derby is sure to be a cracker of a game.  An up and down affair, with plenty of goalscoring opportunities for both clubs.  Liverpool will come out with loads of energy, forcing Manchester into a vulnerable position or two, with Firmino putting the Reds on the front foot.  But, the final thirty minutes will undoubtedly be in favor of the Red Devils as they’ll feed off the home crowd, with Zlatan and Pogba providing Oscar winning performances inside the fabled Theatre of Dreams.  3-2 Manchester United FC

P.S. A special congratulations to captain Wayne Rooney for becoming Man United’s all-time top goalscorer.  He’s tied the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton with 249 career goals, but has accrued that tally over 215 fewer appearances.  Incredible!