Liverpool v Manchester United LIVE: Team information and line-ups as Konate and Jones begin Premier League conflict
Liverpool are hosting Manchester United in the Premier League this afternoon as the league leaders looking to extend their lead at the top of the table, with the fixture set to go ahead despite heavy snow overnight.
A second safety meeting was held just before midday to determine whether the clash could be staged at Anfield after an amber weather warning was issued for much of the north of England. And the go-ahead was given with the situation improving in the city after runways had earlier been closed at both Manchester Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport amid widespread travel disruption.
With the fixture on, Arne Slot’s side will be looking to further seize control of the title race. More dropped points for Arsenal yesterday only strengthens Liverpool’s position with a game still in hand on their rivals. Things are rather less buoyant at Old Trafford at the moment with the arrival of Ruben Amorim not transforming Manchester United’s fortunes. The visitors have won just two league matches since he took over in November, with recent losses to Wolves and Newcastle illustrating the scale of the job on the Portuguese’s hands.
Follow all the latest news from Anfield in our live blog below:
Ruben Amorim admits Manchester United players are ‘anxious and afraid’ ahead of Liverpool clash
Amorim had warned after the 4-0 win over Everton at the start of December that the “storm will come” and so it has proven as United have lost their last three league games by conceding seven and scoring none.
Match facts
Liverpool have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League games against Manchester United (W7 D5), going down 2-1 at Old Trafford in August 2022.
United haven’t won any of their last eight league away games against Liverpool (D4 L4), their longest such run since a run of nine between 1970 and 1979. They have scored just one goal in their last eight Premier League away games against Liverpool, failing to score in each of the last five.
Slot addresses rumours
Arne Slot had plenty of rumours to address in his press conference, and he started by saying that Alexander-Arnold “is playing on Sunday and hopefully he brings the same performance that he has done for the first half of the season.
“I see the way he is in training and he is fully committed to us,” he added.
On van Dijk, he said: “He is a complete player. He is the one that leads the team from start to finish. From the moment I blow my whistle on the training ground, he is the one player that you can always hear. He brings a lot of positive energy.”
On Salah: “I think it’s difficult to compare players. If I only look at my own team, Virgil also has an outstanding season but he doesn’t have the numbers because he is a defender. The numbers Mo has speak for themselves. If you simply look at the numbers and the way he’s playing, he’s definitely a great, great player.”
He added: “It is always important that you have players or staff players that know how to work things. But we are here at one of the best clubs in the world so it is normal that we have players that have won things in their career.”
Mohamed Salah provides update on Liverpool contract talks: ‘It’s my last year in the club’
The Egypt forward is in the last six months of his contract and said he is still “far away” from agreeing a new deal with the club.
Team news
“Unsurprisingly, Ruben Amorim does not stick with the double act of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen after their unfortunate outing against Newcastle.
“Instead, he makes three changes. As expected, Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte return from suspension and Kobbie Mainoo comes into the team after making a difference as a substitute against Newcastle.
“Joshua Zirkzee also drops out, which is no great shock after fans welcomed his first-half removal on Monday. For Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate is the surprise inclusion, returning earlier from injury than anticipated.”
Team news
Ruben Amorim has made three changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Newcastle last time out.
In midfield, Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte return from suspension to take back their places from Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. In addition, Kobbie Mainoo replaces Joshua Zirkzee.
Team news
A huge boost for Liverpool, who welcome back Ibrahima Konate – he is the only change made by Arne Slot, and he replaces Joe Gomez.
It’s probably as strong a team as Slot can name, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez the main attacking options from the bench.
Line-ups
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Diaz.
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley.
Man Utd XI: Onana; de Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Fernandes, Ugarte, Dalot; Amad, Mainoo; Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Malacia, Casemiro, Yoro, Collyer, Eriksen, Antony, Garnacho, Zirkzee.
Team news
Team news is imminent at Anfield. Does Ruben Amorim have a curveball up his sleeve to try and disrupt Liverpool’s planning? All will be revealed…
Recent meetings: Liverpool 7-0 Man Utd
In March 2023, United travelled to Anfield having recently won the Carabao Cup, with manager Erik ten Hag having received plenty of praise for his supposed ‘turnaround’ of the club. However, the Dutchman was soon to endure one of the worst matches in United’s history.
Towards the end of a first half that was surprisingly even, the hosts struck first through Cody Gakpo to bring the game to life. From there, it was all downhill for United as Gakpo and Darwin Nunez added two more goals before the 50-minute mark in the second half.
In a match of comical defending and ridiculous goals, Mo Salah struck twice either side of Nunez’s second, before Bobby Firmino put the icing on the cake for home fans in the 88th minute to cap off a historic day at Anfield.