There’s nothing like a Premier League rivalry match with massive stakes. That’s what fans will be treated to when Manchester United hosts Liverpool on Matchday 9 of the English Premier League season at Old Trafford.
The result will carry significant implications in the battle for the title, even with 29 matches left to go in the season. Manchester United (6th, 14 points) needs a win to stay within reach of Liverpool (2nd, 18 points) and league leaders Chelsea (1st, 22 points).
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under pressure to deliver trophies this year and a recent spell of three winless matches in league play (0-2-1, 1 point) along with an early elimination in the Carabao Cup has only added to the scrutiny. In contrast, Liverpool has been flying to start the season, still undefeated after 12 matches in all competitions. That's not all: Jurgen Klopp's side was the highest scoring side in the Premier League entering Matchday 9, with two or more goals in 11 of the 12 games.
MORE: Manchester United season schedule & highlights
Both teams are coming off unconvincing group stage wins in the UEFA Champions League in midweek and their stars turned out to be the heroes. Cristiano Ronaldo came up with another big goal against Atalanta to rescue Manchester United — who knows where they’d be without the 36-year-old’s six goals in eight matches — while Mohamed Salah is on a club-record run of nine straight matches with a goal after netting twice against Atletico Madrid.
How to watch Manchester United vs. Liverpool
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 24
- Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- TV Channel: NBCSN
- Spanish-language TV: Telemundo
- Streaming: fuboTV
The match will air live in English and Spanish in the USA. NBCSN (English) and Telemundo (Spanish) will air the game and both channels are available to stream on fuboTV.
New subscribers to fuboTV can take advantage of a free 7-day trial.
MORE: All the results from Matchday 9 in the Premier League
Manchester United vs. Liverpool lineups
Liverpool could be getting a Manchester United team missing several influential pieces. Red Devils star center back Raphael Varane is still out (groin), Bruno Fernandes and Fred are doubtful (undisclosed knocks), and it’s unclear whether Marcus Rashford will be ready after coming off the field in midweek with what his coach called a ‘dead leg.’
Manchester United projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-David de Gea-GK — 29-Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 2-Victor Lindelof, 5-Harry Maguire (c), 23-Luke Shaw — 6-Paul Pogba, 39-Scott McTominay — 11-Mason Greenwood, 18-Bruno Fernandes, 10-Marcus Rashford — 7-Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United projected subs: 26-Dean Henderson-GK, 27-Alex Telles, 3-Eric Bailly, 20-Diogo Dalot, 34-Donny van de Beek, 31-Nemanja Matic, 17-Fred, 14-Jesse Lingard, 8-Juan Mata, 25-Jadon Sancho, 21-Edinson Cavani, 9-Anthony Martial
Liverpool looks to only be missing Harvey Elliott (ankle) and Thiago Alcantara (calf), though the Reds are likely to see the return of Curtis Jones, who has played well for them in recent matches.
Liverpool projected starting lineup (4-3-3 left to right): 1-Alisson — 26-Andrew Robertson, 4-Virgil Van Dijk, 32-Joel Matip, 66-Trent Alexander-Arnold — 17-Curtis Jones, 3-Fabinho, 14-Jordan Henderson — 10-Sadio Mane, 20 Diogo Jota, 11 Mohamed Salah
Liverpool projected subs: 62-Caoimhin Kelleher, 5-Ibrahima Konate, 21-Konstantinos Tsimikas, 12-Joe Gomez, 76-Neco Williams, 7-James Milner, 15-Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 8-Naby Keita, 18-Takumi Minamino, 9-Roberto Firmino
Manchester United vs. Liverpool: Betting odds & prediction
Odds courtesy of DraftKings
Pick: Liverpool over 5.5 shots on target -115
Picking a side is tricky in this spot. Liverpool is clearly the better side at the moment, but Man United is known to come up with great performances when the Red Devils have their backs to the wall. So playing a team prop is the alternative chosen here.
Entering Matchday 9, Liverpool has scored the most goals and generated the most shots on goal of any team in the Premier League and it’s no surprise why: In addition to Salah, its attacking players have been in strong form. They will face a Man United team that has allowed the 10th most shots on target in the league (34) with the third highest shots on target percentage allowed (34.7 %), per FBref.
MORE: Wild finish in Man United vs. Atalanta match
In the 12 matches played across all competitions, Liverpool has only failed to get six or more shots on goal on five occasions. Two of those came against Norwich City and the other three happened in the most evenly contested matchups of the season: at Brentford (4), vs. Manchester City (3) and at Atletico Madrid (5).
Given how porous Man United has shown itself to be — only one shutout in 12 matches — and especially without its top defensive signing Raphael Varane, the over 5.5 shots on target for Liverpool at -115 makes for an interesting play.
Prediction: Manchester United 1, Liverpool 2
- Moneyline: Manchester United +205 / Draw +265 / Liverpool +125
- Spread: Manchester United +0.5 (-145) / Liverpool -0.5 (+130)
- O/U 2.5 total goals: Over -185 / Under +145
- Both Teams To Score: Yes -225 / No +170