The Christmas season may be over, but football fans will be treated to a Happy New Year when Liverpool welcome Manchester United for the North West Derby this weekend. England’s two famous reds are in stark contrast at the moment, with Arne Slot leading Liverpool in the title race while Ruben Amorim can’t seem to put his Red Devils woes behind him.
On paper, everything seemed to be pointing towards not just a Liverpool win, but an embarrassing one – but football matches aren’t played on paper. As we’ve seen many times over the years, form tends to slip away when two bitter rivals come to town. But what makes the Liverpool – Manchester United derby so special? Let’s dive into the history, as well as some team news and predictions for the big day!
Liverpool vs Manchester United
The North West Derby is anything but a league title fight this season – let’s be honest. Liverpool are at least six points clear at the top of the standings with no worthy challengers (for now), while Man Utd are behind in 14th.th and looked more likely to be relegated than a title claim. Arne Slot has recorded 14 wins in his first 18 games as Liverpool boss, taking him to 45 points. In contrast, the Red Devils have won just six of their opening 18 league games this season, leaving them on 22 points with a goal difference of minus five. While the likes of Mo Salah and Luis Diaz have thrived in attack on Merseyside, the likes of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have been pushed aside by Amorim in Manchester.
History of Liverpool vs Man United – North West Derby
Some rivalries are born from geographical proximity while others stem from proximity in the league table – the Northwest Derby is actually a bit of both. Manchester United and Liverpool are the two most successful clubs in England and have been neck and neck at the top of the standings for the last 100 years. This sense of rivalry and fierce rivalry has been passed down from generation to generation, and remains to this day despite the differences between the two teams on the field.
In the history of the English Football League, only two teams can surpass Arsenal’s record of 13 titles – Man United and Liverpool. The Red Devils celebrate their iconic 20th anniversaryth won back in 2013 but has transitioned to ‘sleeping giant’ status since then. Liverpool, meanwhile, are just one point behind their arch rivals on 19 points and look set to equalize at the end of the 2024/25 season. The script is somewhat reversed if you look at the history of the PL, which began in 1992. Since then, Man United have won 13 titles, compared to Liverpool’s one title. The two clubs also have very tight competition in winning the overall trophy, if we take into account the domestic cup and European trophy. This time, Liverpool took the lead with a total of 69 trophies, compared to Manchester United’s 68 trophies. This means that Arne Slot can bring his team to 70 in the next six months.
But when did the Liverpool – Manchester United rivalry first start? To answer that, we have to go back to number 18th century. There is a reason why the North West Derby is more highly regarded than the Merseyside and Manchester derbies.
Although Liverpool and Manchester United are not located in the same city, they are fierce cross-city rivals, only 35 miles apart. Before the two clubs compete on the field, there has always been a sense of rivalry between the two North West cities as a whole. This dates back to the beginnings of economics and industry. On the 18thth In the 17th century, Manchester was seen as the center of the North of England, and was the most populous city in that part of the country. However, throughout the 1700s, Liverpool rose to prominence as a major port and eventually overtook Manchester in the 19th century.th and early 20th century. Although Manchester was once the core representation of the North, Liverpool was now suddenly seen as the British Empire’s ‘second city’ after London. Over the next 100 years, the decline of British industry caused Manchester and Liverpool to experience periods of economic instability, all amidst political change in England. In the 1900s, this rivalry extended to the football field.
Manchester United (then called Newton Heath) was formed in 1878, just 14 years before Liverpool appeared. The two clubs first met in a competitive match in 1894 when Liverpool won 2-0, but the two clubs have met 215 times since then. Since then, the two northwest giants have traded blows, both head-to-head and in the title race. In the 1963/64 season, Liverpool won their sixth Premier League title, followed by Man United winning their sixth title in 1965, then Liverpool winning their seventh title in 1966, and Man United again left behind in 1967. Liverpool became the dominant force in English football . throughout the 1970s and 80s, winning 11 titles in 20 seasons. However, as the turn of the decade approached, Man United stepped into the new millennium with increased enthusiasm. The arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson saw the Red Devils lift 13 league titles between 1992 and 2013.
Since that last Man United title win, only one PL trophy has been contested in the North West – Liverpool Derby in 2020. A Manchester City comeback, two Chelsea wins and a Leicester City surprise have kept the Man Utd – Liverpool rivalry alive. bay for most of this decade. However, Arne Slot appears to be leading his team back to the forefront of the debate.
The place
Anfield – Sunday 5 January. Kick-off: 16:30 local time.
The iconic Anfield was built in 1884 and has been renovated 13 times since then to meet the demands of modern football. Liverpool has been Anfield’s main tenant since 1892, making the 61,276-seat stadium one of the longest-serving stadiums in England. Anfield has not been a happy hunting ground for Man Utd in recent times. In fact, the Red Devils have not won there since a 1-0 victory in the 2015/16 season. The last five league meetings at Anfield have ended with Liverpool winning three and drawing twice. Man Utd failed to score in all five matches and even recorded defeats of 7-0 and 4-0.
Team News and Injury News
Let’s take a look at some team and injury news as we face Liverpool vs Manchester United on Sunday:
Liverpool: Liverpool have been fortunate with their injuries over the past few months, but are now faced with problems at the back ahead of the North West Derby. Ibrahima Konate has been out with a knee injury since December and struggled to return in time for the match. Joe Gomez had to withdraw from the match against West Ham with a thigh injury, meaning Jarell Quansah had to fill in alongside Virgil Van Dijk. Arne Slot’s only other injury is at right-back, with Conor Bradley out – but even he is close to returning. In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai returns from suspension.
Manchester United: Manchester United have Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte back from suspension for the Liverpool game. However, Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw are still out due to injury and their return date is unknown.
Players to Watch
We can answer this question with one simple word – False. The Liverpool winger is in excellent form at the moment, with 17 goals and 13 assists so far this season. To put that in perspective, he currently leads the standings in terms of goals scored and assists provided. To further illustrate, you can look at Man Utd’s top five goalscorers so far this season and they still haven’t combined to match Salah’s tally. By that logic, the other two players to watch in this match are Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martinez, both of whom will have to work together to stop Salah on the night – easier said than done. In the attack line, Bruno Fernandes is always someone the Red Devils are wary of. The unfortunate truth for Ruben Amorim is one of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and company. it could also be a spectacle.
Head-to-head record
There have been a total of 215 meetings between Manchester United and Liverpool since 1894. Man Utd has the upper hand in the matchup with 83 wins compared to Liverpool’s 72 wins, with the remaining 60 ending in draws. Currently, the Red Devils have scored 289 goals, with Liverpool scoring exactly the same number of goals. Unsurprisingly, the top scorer in the North West Derby was Mo Salah with 15 goals, followed by Steven Gerrard with nine goals and Stan Pearson with eight goals. In the last ten PL meetings between Liverpool and Man Utd, the Red Devils have only won once. Liverpool have tasted victory six times and scored 28 goals in the process. This has actually been a very high-scoring fixture in recent times (more thanks to Liverpool than United), with 34 goals in the last ten games. That’s an average of 3.4 goals per game!
Form Guide
The performance guide doesn’t look too good for Man Utd heading into this match. The Red Devils have only managed six wins from their opening 18 games this season, compared to Liverpool’s 14 wins. That leaves United 23 points behind their rivals after 18 games. We haven’t seen improvement under Ruben Amorim in Manchester either, with his new boss winning just two of his first seven Premier League games. With Man United’s last win at Anfield in the 2015/16 season, our performance guide certainly points to a clear win for Liverpool.
Potential Implications
For Liverpool, the implication is simple – another win means three points closer to the league title. For Man Utd, the stakes are slightly smaller. A win over their bitter rivals could kick-start a positive performance under Amorim, while also damaging Liverpool’s title credentials. There is also the embarrassment of being stuck in the bottom half of the standings. Whatever the case, it’s fair to say that Liverpool and Man United are fighting on very different fronts this season.
Player Lineup Prediction
Let’s take a look at how we expect Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim to line up for the North West Derby on Sunday.
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones; Wrong, Jota, Gakpo.
Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, Yoro, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Ugarte; Fernandes, Diallo; Hoijlund.
Liverpool vs Man United odds
Betsson is currently offering a range of odds on Liverpool vs Man United ahead of this weekend’s North West derby!
Liverpool to win: 1.30
Draw: 6.20
Manchester United who will win: 10.00
Last season, this game finished 0-0 and you can get odds of 27.00 for that to happen again. Liverpool’s 1-0 win comes at odds of 9.80, 2-0 is 7.40, 2-1 is 8.20 and 3-0 is 8.40. On the other hand, if you want Man United to spring an away surprise, a 1-0 win over the Red Devils at odds of 31.00 or 2-1 will give you 27.00.
You can browse Betsson’s range of betting options for Liverpool vs Man United HERE.
Score Prediction
We can’t see anything other than a Liverpool win here – and a possible embarrassment. Arne Slot’s men are too strong and powerful for a struggling and new-look Man United under Ruben Amorim, not to mention the fact that Mo Salah looks absolutely unstoppable at the moment.
Score prediction: Liverpool 4-0 Manchester United
PS: The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last Updated: 01.03.2025
