United approach this game on a remarkable five-game winning streak - remarkable for the fact they've continued winning without playing well. We were fortunate to win away to both Arsenal and Southampton, struggled against a defensive Crystal Palace at home and only played well in the second half against Stoke. The only good performance came at home to Hull City when United won comfortably 3-0. Until we produce a fully convincing performance against a decent side question marks will remain over our credentials under Van Gaal and I think Van Gaal is also hoping we start producing better performances. I don’t think we will see anything convincing against Liverpool this Sunday. A midweek draw with FC Basel wasn't sufficient to salvage their Champions League status, leaving Rodgers' men seemingly low on confidence. I think Rodgers might be
more cautious than usual, focusing upon stopping United rather than winning the game, I expect a tight, scrappy game. A win would be fantastic because it would put us ten points ahead of Liverpool, who despite their difficult season I still consider a direct top-four rival, something Van Gaal agrees with.
"I still think Liverpool can fight for the top four places and still I have belief in that team because they have fantastic players but they also have a lot of injuries which is not so easy to manage." Van Gaal said. I still don’t believe we are title contenders despite reducing the gap on the top two over the last 5 games, the focus has to remain on getting enough points to secure a top-four place and in this respect we are in a comfortable position at the moment.
"We have to live match for match and that is the most important thing. We have to beat Liverpool which is more important than thinking about Manchester City or Chelsea." Dropped points against Liverpool wouldn’t be a disaster, a win would only improve our prospects further, but only more convincing performances will change the narrative surrounding United at the moment and convince people that Van Gaal is the man to rebuild us.
The formation is defiantly a problem at the moment, I fully understand why Van Gaal reverts to a 3-man defence when we play more offensive teams like Southampton and Arsenal, but we never seem to play that system well. A 4-man defence seems to produce better performances at the moment so it will be interesting to see what Van Gaal goes with on Sunday. I personally would opt for the 4-3-1-2 shape we have used in recent home games because I think Liverpool are more of a cautious team at the moment and we seem to perform better in that system. With no Suarez or Sturridge to face the key player to control is Sterling. His sheer pace and intelligence will cause problems, but he is likely to be fielded on the flanks with Lambert as the central striker. Lambert shouldn’t cause us too much of a threat, he drops towards the ball to link with onrushing midfield players which we are far more comfortable defending than forwards who run the channels. In midfield Liverpool are very functional, Rodgers' decision is about how to use Gerrard - either as a deep-lying playmaker or as a number 10, with Lucas Leiva and
Jordan Henderson probably shifting in either direction according to the captain's positioning. With both teams having good numbers and similar players in this zone I expect a fairly even battle, Lucas will look to nullify the player at the top of our diamond, Gerrard and Henderson will match up with the widest two of our diamond shape leaving Carrick as the free player at the base, he could be an important player in this midfield zone. The problem with diamond is the lack natural width from high up the pitch, this encourages our full-backs to overlap and stretch the play, but the same applies in reverse, though: the lack of natural width means opposition full-backs are free to break forward and Glen Johnson and Alberto Moreno could be dangerous players for Liverpool, but playing with a front two against this Liverpool defence surely gives us a great chance. Liverpool lack organisation and leadership at the back and also tends to make basic errors, we have an excellent goal threat in the final third and hopefully this should be enough to make the difference.
What to look for;
· What formation United plays with.
· Can we control Sterling?
· Where will Gerreard play?
· Will Liverpool’s full-backs become a problem?
· Can we create chances for the strikers without Di Maria?
Subs – Lindegaard, McNair, Fletcher, Fellani, Januzaj, Wilson, Falcao.
Smalling’s injury gives Evans a chance to shine in his favoured position at right-centre back alongside Rojo. If Rafael is fit I would bring him back into the side because we need both full-backs back as soon as possible, unfortunately Shaw is still out but Young has done well there and keeps his place. Fellani had a shocker on Monday so I would move Valencia into that slot on the right side of the diamond because we need a player with some pace who can dribble the ball forward on the counter; he played that role well against Everton earlier in the season. Herrera and Mata work well and I prefer Mata higher up the pitch where he is more comfortable and a bigger goal threat. It doesn’t make sense to start with Falcao or Wilson ahead of Rooney or Van Persie yet because both are in good form.