Charlie Nicholas has predicted that Manchester United will end Liverpool’s 100 per cent record in the Premier League by drawing against them at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side can match Manchester City’s 18-match winning-run record on Sunday if they earn all three points against the Red Devils, but Nicholas believes that the match will end as a 1-1 draw.
However the ex-Arsenal striker has added that if Liverpool to inflict a heavy defeat on Man United, he claims that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at Old Trafford may become bleak.
“They have battered them on a few occasions and Man Utd still won the title, but this is do or die for United and a day of credibility for them to try and get a point, which I think they will do. They will scrap and sit in, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows that – they will not play expansively here,” Nicholas said on the Sky Sports website.
“Man Utd will not want to get beat and walk away. This is a ‘parking the bus’ kind of game, in which they cannot take a risk. If they get beat and Liverpool embarrass them, then it could spell even more danger for Solskjaer. I feel Marcus Rashford will offer something here.”
OPINION
Liverpool should win against Man United. Should. However everyone knows that the form book can be thrown out of the window in matches such as these and Solskjaer’s men know that there is a lot less pressure on them than there is their rivals. Liverpool are eight points clear at the top, they can afford to slip up at Old Trafford. No one expects the Reds to end the season with a 100 per cent record so they will draw or lose a match eventually over the course of this 38-match season. Although they definitely want to beat Man United, they are comfortable at this early stage and comfort can lead to complacency. Man United are anything but comfortable. Solskjaer’s squad is ravaged by injuries to key players such as Paul Pogba and David De Gea, plus the defeat to Newcastle before the international break was an abomination. If the Red Devils are going to bounce back in a match, it could be this one, and Liverpool need to be prepared.
