Just a few weeks ago, almost no one suspected that Liverpool would be rated much higher than Manchester United when the two teams met at Anfield. The reigning Premier League champions are on a 5-match winning streak, while Man United have only won 2, drawn 1 and lost 2.
However, since then, Arne Slot's side have lost to Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the Premier League, along with defeats to Galatasaray in the Champions League. They lost the top spot to Arsenal and somewhat eased the excitement.
However, all those failures have come away from home, so Liverpool will be very excited to return to Anfield this weekend.
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim's side entered the match confidently after the win over Sunderland. However, they are yet to win in their last eight away games in the Premier League (D2 L6).
Is this a match for Mohamed Salah to shine?
Mohamed Salah is no longer himself this season. Perhaps that is a sign of decline in performance over time. It could also be because he has not received the perfect passes from Trent Alexander-Arnold behind. Or perhaps, deeper, Salah is still being hit hard by the sudden and tragic passing of his close friend and former teammate Diogo Jota last summer.
Regardless of the reason, most people believe that there will be no surprises if Salah soon returns to the familiar image of a top assassin. Last season alone, he still broke the Premier League record for goals scored in a 38-match season.
And which opponent is better for Salah to regain his scoring touch if it's not the big match against Man United this weekend?
The Egyptian has scored the most goals (3) and was directly involved in the most goals9) against Man United in Premier League history. With just one more goal, he would become the sixth player in the league's history to score more than 20 goals against the same opponent.
Man United have conceded nine goals in four away games in all competitions this season. In the Premier League, only Burnley and West Ham have created more expected goals (excluding penalties) than them, with a tally of up to 10.1 xG. The average xG of each shot they face is also higher than any other team in the tournament - 0.16 xG.
Late goals
Late goals have become the highlight of the 2025-2026 Premier League. In 70 matches played, 24 goals were scored from the 90th minute onwards, and 10 of them were the goals that decided the outcome of the match. Both of these figures are at their highest level of any other season in the history of the tournament.
Of those goals, 7 - accounting for 25% - came from matches featuring Liverpool or Man United. In the group of decisive goals in the last minute, 5 goals - equivalent to 50% - also belonged to these two teams. Liverpool even had more decisive goals in the 83rd and 88th minutes.
If it weren't for those late goals, Liverpool would have drawn four games instead of all, while United would have dropped to 13th in the table. More than anyone else, these two teams understand the value of fighting until the final whistle.
Opportunity for rookies to shine
Both clubs have spent big in the summer of 2025, especially in the center forward position. Hugo Ekitike made an impressive start to his Liverpool career, while Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko had slow start for various reasons.
Ekitike have never faced the "Red Devils" before, while Isak has only scored one goal in eight encounters with Man United in his career. The only goal came last season, in Newcastle's 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
Sesko has also only faced Liverpool once in the Champions League last season at RB Leipzig, but could not score in the 0-1 defeat.
With a total transfer value of around £280 million, there will be many expectations that at least one of these three strikers will shine when Liverpool and Man United face each other.
