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No Need To Fear Old Trafford

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Liverpool celebrateIT’S been so many, many years since Liverpool FC last earned a victory at Old Trafford. Gone are the days when Liverpool would arrive at the home of Manchester United and strike fear into the hearts of the Old Trafford faithful on a regular basis and it became that way far too easily.

There was a short period during Gerard Houllier and later Rafa Benitez’s reigns when Liverpool would often dominate the fixture, either through tactical superiority or just having that particular ‘hoodoo’ over the opposition and those were some sweet years indeed.

However, the last time Liverpool took victory at Old Trafford was over 4 years – and 6 games – ago and that was the most resounding result that either side has had in years, as Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool side utterly destroyed Ferguson’s would be Champions.

Until Saturday’s unexpected, sickening defeat to Southampton at Anfield, the Reds were beginning to look like they were on their way back there, to that place: grinding out tough wins, looking solid and assured at the back whilst usually dominating possession and creating lots of opportunities in front of goal.

There were still many improvements to be made, from 1st-to-2nd half consistency, to actually taking the chances when they presented themselves. Nevertheless, the first defeat of the season was highly disappointing and brought us all back down to earth with a massive bang.

All that aside, there is absolutely no reason for Liverpool to fear a side that currently sits 3 points and just as many places below us in the league after five games. Having already lost to ourselves, drawn with Chelsea at Old Trafford most recently been destroyed by Manchester City without their own ‘talisman’, it is a prime time for Liverpool to face them with theirs now available again.

United have already let in 6 league goals and look highly suspect without van Persie leading their line and we’ve seen on many occasions that Wayne Rooney is rarely that ‘big game player’ that so many believe him to be.

Another aspect of the game is that it is only a league cup match, so it’s highly unlikely that Manchester United will field even as strong a side as they did on Sunday. With van Persie likely to be out for the game and Wayne Rooney possibly rested, it’ll be a much altered (dare I say, weakened?) side that takes the field.

That isn’t to say that Liverpool will put out their strongest side either, but with only the league and potential for a couple of cup runs to fill the mid-weeks of the early season, there is no reason for the Reds to put out a significantly weakened side. And let’s be honest, no side with a fit, fresh and raring to go Luis Suarez in it can be called significantly weakened.

Regardless of what side United put out, they will be a tough prospect, particularly in front of their own fans but with the pressure already building on Moyes and United’s squad becoming exposed in Alex Ferguson’s absence for not being quite as strong as most would like to believe there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for Liverpool to fear Manchester United this evening.

On the contrary, it should serve as a perfect opportunity to bounce back and get the season back on track with a bang!

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.