Overview
Manchester United and Liverpool are only 3 points apart in the Premier League standings, and both are very close to a ticket to the UEFA Champions League next season.
After the victory against Brentford, Man United is currently ranked 3rd with an 11 point gap from the chasing group before round 35. Coach Michael Carrick's team only needs 2 more points to officially win a Champions League spot.
Meanwhile, Liverpool is right behind with a 3-point gap, after surpassing Aston Villa thanks to Crystal Palace's victory. Arne Slot's team still needs 5 more points to secure a top 5 spot. According to predictions by Opta supercomputer, Man United has a 99.8% chance of finishing in the Champions League group, while Liverpool and Villa both reach 97.6%.
Man United entered the match with high confidence after a 3-game winning streak against Fulham, Everton and Crystal Palace. This is their longest winning streak since the beginning of the season.
Conversely, Liverpool faces many difficulties against teams in the top group. The Kop have only won 1 in the last 12 matches against teams in the top 3 (7 draws, 4 losses). Their away form is also not really convincing, with only 4 wins in the last 23 matches against teams in the upper half of the table, although the victory over Everton ended a 7-match winless streak.
Old Trafford is returning to being a solid support for Man United. They have won 36 points at home this season - the third best record in the league, a significant improvement compared to last season when they were only 14th. "The Red Devils" have won 6/7 recent home matches, only losing to Leeds United.
Bruno Fernandes' brilliant form is the key factor. With 19 assists, he is only one assist short of Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne's record. Fernandes has also contributed to goals in 8 consecutive matches at Old Trafford - a record only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
On Liverpool's side, Mohamed Salah's absence will be a big loss, even though he is expected to return before the end of the season. The Egyptian striker is currently Man United's "demon" with 13 goals, including 7 away goals.
In that context, Alexander Isak is expected to shine. The Swedish striker scored in the most recent match and may mark the 100-match Premier League milestone by scoring for the second consecutive match.
In terms of force, Man United is missing Lisandro Martinez due to suspension, while Matthijs de Ligt has not yet recovered from injury. Matheus Cunha and Luke Shaw are also uncertain to play.
On the other side, Liverpool does not have Salah along with Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Hugo Ekitike. However, Alisson Becker may return to the goal after Freddie Woodman impressed in the previous match.
Head-to-head record
Man United does not have a good record against Liverpool when they have only won 3 in their last 19 Premier League encounters (9 draws, 7 losses). However, the "Red Devils" are facing the opportunity for the first time since the 2015-2016 season to defeat this opponent in both legs in the same season.
In the first leg held at Anfield in October, Man United won 2-1 thanks to goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire, while Cody Gakpo was the only scorer for the home team.
However, Liverpool still shows a certain dominance in recent away games at Old Trafford. They have won 3 in their last 5 away games against Man United in the Premier League (1 draw, 1 loss), equal to the number of wins in the previous 18 trips (3 draws, 12 losses).
Score prediction: Man United 2-2 Liverpool
The match between Man United and Liverpool takes place at 9:30 PM on May 3rd (Vietnam time).
