As good as we played against Spurs Di Maria is a must start and recapture his earlier form if we're gonna win away.
FA Premier League
Liverpool 1:2 Manchester United
Anfield
- Kick-off
- Sun, 22 March 2015 @ 1:30pm GMT
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Discussion Live Updates 70 Your Lineup Prediction
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Smalling has looked good on the ball when he plays RCB. I'd have Smalling Rojo and Shaw. Plenty of pace and power to deal with their front 3. Blind and Carrick sitting in front and Young Mata and Di Maria behind Rooney. We can afford to not play Fellaini if we play Blind and Carrick and it solves the Mata or Di Maria issue.DDG
Valencia-Smalling-Rojo-Blind
Carrick
Herrera-Mata
Di Maria
Falcao-Rooney
Why stay away? Just take it down a few notches and stop with the "we're better than you" attitude, ( not quoting you btw) wich it comes across as.
What is up with the pitch at Anfield? Not looking good at all.I wouldn't say that the Liverpool fans here are not concerned. It's a massive match and no matter how well you play (this goes for both teams of course) fate can always intervene in the form of a poor referring error or deflection or red card .. etc.
Ref is Aitkinson .. so a definite possibility there
The pitch isn't up to standard, it's shite so that's another good excuse I'll bear in mind
None of the Liverpool posters in this thread ever hide. If United win by delivering a better performance then we will recognise that and that United will then have deserved to finish in the Top 4.
A midfield of Carrick and Blind doesn't work because they're both very similar. Neither can play the box to box role good enough, the arsenal game taught us this. Soon as Herrera went of for Carrick there was a huge gap inbetween the defence and the forwards and we resulted to hoofing towards felz because no one was able to bring the ball through midfield to the forwards.
A midfield off Carrick and Herrera makes so much sense for this game. We don't need to set up uber defensively to hit them on the counter, we just have to play with a bit more of a defensive/counter mindset. If Blind is going to play on Sunday it has to be either lb/cb or bench. Carrick/herrera need to be in midfield imo.
My only concern there is if Carrick sits too deep and invites the likes of Coutinho on when he's inside, give them space to turn and we'll be in trouble, if he plays a little higher and makes himself a presence we'll be fine.
Yeah I noticed that, looks like a proper cabbage patch. Old Trafford has never looked better since they went to this half synthetic(desso) pitch too.
It's utter shite and the club must take responsibility for that. The pitch has a 10 year lifetime and it's now into it's 14th year (it's the same, half-synthetic(desso) that OT has). The club has also said that the new stand build (cranes) will interfere with any new pitch lay (due to the amount of undersoil infrastructure required) so we may not see the pitch replaced until the Sumer of 2016. Awful.Gary Neville says Liverpool are the favourites against Manchester United, but a win for the visitors would be a more defining result. "Sunday’s game now, with the way that it’s set up, I wouldn’t say is a game that defines who is going to finish in the top four, but it will certainly give the team who comes out better from the game a massive boost in confidence. A draw sets it up for the rest of the season. I think United would be content with a draw but I don’t think a draw is the worst result for Liverpool either."
You’d have to make Liverpool the favourites. I know United played well last week but at Anfield and with their fantastic run of form, you’d have to make them favourites. United will have to go there on Sunday and withstand immense pressure, particularly early on in the game. Liverpool have got fantastic energy in that front six and I think are better at United than that. But United have got matchwinners in their team and I think the game is set up well.
But I don’t think you can play as you did at home to Tottenham and then go to Anfield and play the same way. That would be a big mistake, in my opinion. In a perfect world you’d love to go to Anfield, start positively and go a goal up, but how many times has that happened? How many times have United done it? They are few and far between. It would be naive.
Good read : http://www1.skysports.com/football/...chester-united-win-more-damaging-to-liverpoolLast edited:I just beat 'Pool 7-1 on FM. Surely that's a sign?
tbh disagree slightly with Neville here. I agree with him in saying this match doesn't define top 4 like many are saying. However, a draw is bad because it forces you to get a result for arsenal. Then if you don't we will have a 5 or 8 point gap ahead of you (5 if we draw and you lose to arsenal, 8 if we beat you and you lose to arsenal) Providing we beat villa, which isn't a far off suggestion. Again, I don't see you going to arsenal and getting a draw or winning. You have to win on Sunday if you want to keep the pressure on.
Of course like alot of the scenario's in this thread. It is all hypothetical.I would take a draw right now. I'm not sure how much of the Spurs game was them being dreadful and if Liverpool press high up the pitch I've a feeling we'll gift them a goal.
ADM must start imo, shame Mata will get dropped, but horses for courses and hopefully ADM will find some form. Is Shaw injured? Nobody seems to have him in their teams. If he is fit I'd play him, he is quite a lot quicker than Blind which will be needed.
I agree with Neville - if Utd lose it won't be the end of the world as its somewhat expected, but if Liverpool lose it could knock the stuffing out of them for the run-in.We're usually sh** at Anfield, and even when we won there we were very very poor. (Mind that I will take a win at any cost of course). But we are usually outmuscled; they usually play with more intensity and passion this game, and I’m afraid that it can be the same kind of game.
We are horrible away from home and if we played well recently (also against a very good Arsenal team), I just think that we lack the solidity we need to take something there. We will not resist for 90 mins against them, not with our defense (I include the midfield also)
We’re not just good enough at the back to sit and play the counter, like we did with VDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Scholes, CR….
It would be good to give them a go during this game, I think that they expect us to hit them on counter, but we’re capable of hurting them out wide, and press them also. It will be all down to the tactics, but it’s going to be really nervous
I’m just already nervous about this game…I thought we played very well there last season, they got a goal in the 3rd minute and sat back for the remaining 87. I think we'll do alright performance-wise, it's just the result I'm not sure of.Considering our away form this season, I will happily take a draw - it keeps them out of the top 4 and keeps our hopes of finishing there in our own hands.
What you mean dominate the midfield and score 3 goals?
We only need to tweak our game to be slightly more cautious/clinical. We don't need to hoof it to felz and we don't need to park a massive bus like some of you lot in here are implying.
You aren't Barcelona for Christ sakes.Not sure if I want ADM to come back into the starting line up for this one. Mata did a good job in that role but my concern for him there is the lack of pace tracking back. If Valencia starts at RB again (can't see why he won't) then Mata deserves another chance ahead of ADM.
Wouldn't be at all surprised to see LvG choose the same starting 11 that beat Spurs - he's done that a few times this season if memory serves, and sometimes after pretty dull performances, so it makes sense to do it after a good performance.
Need to stop Liverpool getting an early lead.
We had a lot of posession but didn't create much if I remember correctly.
Correct, because they parked the bus for 87 minutes.
I was at the game, we scored early and had much the better of the 1st half. United had the better of the second and more possession without really threatening, at least not until the last 15/20 minutes.
Hardly sat back for 87 mins!
I'd advise reading the Liverpool thread, then.This is probably the most important game of the season. It'll be very interesting to see the lineup.
I'm hoping for:
--------------- De Gea -------------
Valencia - Smalling - Rojo - Blind
--------------- Carrick -------------
-------- Herrera -------------------
--------------------- Fellaini -------
Di Maria -------------------- Young
--------------- Rooney -------------Blind ad a good game as LB, but this will be totally different game, we dominated Spurs and they had no time to make things happen. Liverpool at Anfield in their form will be much more intense game from their side. I think Blind could struggle in this one. So I was thinking Rafael could play there, he loves to play against them will give his 150% and can score with his left foot :-) He also most importantly posses the speed and aggressiveness we desperately need in the wide spaces..It is true a win for us would be much more significant than a win for them. If they beat us, then we could still be ahead of them if they draw away to Arsenal next week which isn't exactly impossible (and we beat Villa at home). If we beat them they are screwed.
Having said that I still think a loss for us would lead on to us ultimately missing out on the top 4. We could do with something from this game as we have harder fixtures left than the other 3 teams in the race for the top 4.Liverpool at Anfield is probably the only fixture I have no hope for even when we were good. We almost never turn up. Would happily take a boring 0-0 draw but I expect Liverpool to win this one despite our performance vs Spurs. I just can't see us coping with their pressing.
This is almost a completely different team under a different manager with different tactics though. Surely that has to count for something?
Hopefully, it's just that we've been a bit inconsistent this season and the way LvG likes to have the ball played out from defense, couple that with the way Liverpool press and the fact that we don't exactly have the best ball-playing defenders in the world leaves me a bit worried.
It was still technically the best game we played at Anfield in recent years, though that's not saying much at all because we never turn up at Anfield.
Last edited:If we want top 4 we need to improve our away record, I don't think we can settle for a draw because its away. If we can get one away result in there, Anfield has to be the one. That would give us 1 more big game and a 4 point cushion, and Liverpool-Arsenal to come.
If after last game, as Fellaini suggest there some galvanizing moment then an upset could be on the cards. I do worry though. I think Tottenham was a bit of a false dawn. We played well, but they were abysmal, and we were out of sight by half time. We generally have been better when we get early goals, and I think it was more us being able to take advantage of their poor play than them not being able to play because of our quality. So I'm worried about how much it is going to count in terms of play in future matches.Last edited:
From your posts, I would hazard a guess you're new to football and use stats sites to form your opinion rather than watching matches with any understanding of the game.
ROFL? That should be a bannable offence.You dickhead. That's Gary Neville you have quoted not me ....
Should probably put that in quotation marks.
Yeah, 50 years watching football has done that to me .. I now like to use stats to support my knowledge of the game. Better than just spouting out unsubstantiated shite like some.
Christ, so you're at least 50 and spend your days on a Man United forum, littering your posts with smilies and using terms like ROFL.
See ya.It has to be this:
De Gea
Valencia Smalling Rojo Blind
Herrera Carrick
Di Maria Fellaini Young
Rooney
You can arrange the names into a 433 if you like but in truth Roo will be a lone striker and Fellaini will play just off him.
The only serious question is whether to start Di Maria over Mata. There's no wrong answer but I think the start has to go to Di Maria. He was playing fantastic football before his dive/assault meltdown and he's a much more physically gifted athlete than Mata, which will come in handy against Liverpool. But there was nothing wrong with Mata's game at all v Spurs and a case can be made for bringing on Di Maria in the second half.
I'm still not happy that Rafael has been frozen out, but this is not the fixture to correct that. Valencia was horrid against Arsenal but was solid against Tottenham. Start him again v Liverpool and we'll talk about Rafael after that.
More than the starting XI and the formation, the strategic question is whether we assault Liverpool early as we did Tottenham or whether we ride out Liverpool's pressure and hit them when they expose a vulnerability.Personally rather see Mata start, Di Maria could have a far greater impact from the bench.
Wouldn't say very well. But we did control the game. Created next to nothing despite having a lot of the ball. Thinking back to the game, I'm hoping we can perform well there on Sunday
Smalling has been dribbled only 21 times since 2009.
The thought of Sterling, Coutinho and Sturridge running at Smalling doesn't scare me, it interests me.- Status
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Compiled from 878 ratings.
Score Predictions
366,127,187
- Man Utd win
- Liverpool win
- Draw
Detailed Results
- 20% Liverpool 1:2 Man Utd
- 18% Liverpool 1:1 Man Utd
- 9% Liverpool 0:2 Man Utd
- 8% Liverpool 1:3 Man Utd
- 8% Liverpool 2:2 Man Utd
- 7% Liverpool 2:1 Man Utd
- 7% Liverpool 0:1 Man Utd
- 4% Liverpool 2:0 Man Utd
- 3% Liverpool 3:1 Man Utd
- 3% Liverpool 2:3 Man Utd
- 3% Liverpool 0:3 Man Utd
- 2% Liverpool 0:5 Man Utd
- 2% Liverpool 0:0 Man Utd
- 2% Liverpool 3:0 Man Utd
- 1% Liverpool 1:0 Man Utd
- 1% Liverpool 5:0 Man Utd
- 1% Liverpool 2:4 Man Utd
- 1% Liverpool 1:4 Man Utd
- 0% Liverpool 0:4 Man Utd
- 0% Liverpool 4:0 Man Utd
- 0% Liverpool 4:1 Man Utd
- 0% Liverpool 4:5 Man Utd
- 0% Liverpool 1:5 Man Utd
Match Stats
- Liverpool
- Man Utd
- Possession
- 42% 58%
- Shots
- 7 6
- Shots on Target
- 1 4
- Corners
- 2 3
- Fouls
- 14 17
Referee
Martin Atkinson
Man Utd Lineup
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replaced by Marcos Rojo
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replaced by Angel Di Maria
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replaced by Radamel Falcao
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