Sports Blog 12/12/2014: Match Preview – Manchester United vs Liverpool, Sunday 14th December

After a role reversal last season, Manchester United and Liverpool seem to be on their way back to their traditional positions. Almost.

With United in 3rd and Liverpool in 9th, the old guard of the English game face each other at Old Trafford on Sunday.

For all of United’s reported woes, and an unconvincing win over Southampton, they are in better form than Liverpool who crashed out of the Champions League mid-week. Their win at St Mary’s on Monday saw United take their winning streak to five games, with van Gaal’s men grinding out the victories since they lost the most recent Manchester derby at the start of November.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have been much more inconsistent recently. Their last six games have seen 3 draws (2 of which in their last two fixtures), 2 wins and a draw. Their most recent draw against Basel saw them finished in 3rd in their Champions League group, leaving them unseeded in the next round of the Europa League.

Sunday’s fixture, a game that many see as the Premier League’s equivalent of Spain’s El Classico, looks set for plenty of goals. In each of the last 7 match-ups at Old Trafford the game has involved at least 3 goals. With this information in mind, Spreadex are providing a Total Goals spread betting quote of 2.75-2.95.



United have won their last 3 home games against Liverpool, and this has been reflected by our Spreadex clients, who are favouring the Manchester side at a Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of Manchester United/Liverpool 0.6-0.8. In terms of first goal scorers, United’s star strikers are favourites, with Rooney at 4/1 on the fixed odds betting, and van Persie, who found his form against Southampton, at 7/2. And despite being Liverpool’s top scorer this season, Steven Gerrard is only 12/1 to score first.

With Liverpool losing last season’s shine, and United still unconvincing, this legendary battle is a must win for both sides. More than this, the bragging rights that go with such a game means these fierce rivals, regardless of their current standing, will be seeking to humiliate the other. Let’s hope this passion results in a better showing from both sides than we’ve seen in recent times.