Liverpool are preparing to face Manchester United at Old Trafford in one of the biggest games of the season for both clubs.
The Reds are without a win after their first two matches, having been held to draws with Fulham and Crystal Palace. Meanwhile, United were beaten in both of their opening two fixtures, against Brighton and Brentford.
Looking ahead to the match, the ECHO have had an exclusive chat with Mark Goldbridge, presenter of The United Stand and on talkSPORT. He spoke about the mood among Red Devils fans ahead of the game, as well as the plans for a protest outside Old Trafford.
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So, Mark. How are you feeling ahead of the match?
It’s always a big game against Liverpool, but we’ve got so many other things going off as well. People trying to buy the club, ridiculous offers for transfers. Then there’s this game, which is big, but we’ve got other things going off. So it's a bit of a weird time to be honest.
What’s the mood like among Manchester United fans going into the game?
I think the fact the game is on a Monday night has diluted things a little bit, I don’t know how Liverpool fans feel about it. But I did the preview show for the United Stand on Saturday night and it didn’t feel the same as what a Liverpool game should do, really.
I think that is a lot to do with the bad start to the season, the complete contempt towards the Glazers and what they’re doing now by just chucking money at the problem. So I think it has taken the edge of what is our biggest game of the season at Old Trafford.
What’s the latest on the planned protests and can we expect the same as April 2021?
The last protest was very angry and, obviously, ended up with people on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of the Super League. I think the plan is for a very different protest this time. The people that have organised it, The 1958, and then supported by the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust and other organisations, are very clear that it’s a very peaceful protest. It’s very organised with the timings of it. These things can get out of hand but that’s not the intent from United fans.
I heard Jurgen Klopp say that fans have the right to protest, but hopefully the game doesn’t get cancelled. He even dropped it in there that if it does [get postponed], there’s no time to rearrange it so Liverpool should get the points. I think if it does get called off then the points probably get allocated to Liverpool anyway. I don’t want the game to get postponed, I don’t think anybody does, but I think it just shows how big this is.
It’s bigger than a game against Liverpool, it’s an opportunity to remove the Glazers and get back to being a football club again.
What will happen at Man United if Liverpool win?
I’m expecting that to happen, simply because I think even if United had beaten Brentford and Brighton, the evidence is there that Liverpool are a better side. They’re the best side in England with Manchester City, so I think we’d be the underdogs anyway.
But under the circumstances, and the lack of quality we’ve got, I think we probably will lose. I don’t think it impacts Ten Hag, as a fan I’m not laying the blame at his door yet, which is weird for a manager who could lose his first three games in charge. I think he’s been so severely hindered by the antics of United’s hierarchy this summer. He’s had the Cristiano Ronaldo issue which he inherited, they haven’t got in the players that he wanted.
He’s also got a lot of players which shouldn’t be at that club, and I think he’s learning by the day that he’s probably made some mistakes around the captaincy and selection. I think Ten Hag will start to come under pressure from the media, we’re getting hints from that already. But from the fanbase, from what I’ve read and seen, I genuinely don’t think he will lose support if Liverpool win.
The Southampton game is where things need to change, especially with Casemiro coming in.
What has changed among United fans since Liverpool won 5-0 last October?
One of the big things has been the acceptance of the situation United are in. I remember that game and we probably went into it as underdogs but hoping for a result, and it was an absolute annihilation.
To see Liverpool at Old Trafford taking the foot off the pedal in the second half was probably more embarrassing than whey did to us in the first half. It was complete and utter obliteration and it was done again at Anfield a few months later.
But I think what’s happened at United, and I’ve not seen it happen before but it needed to happen, is when Ralf Rangnick came. He was criticised, but the main focus of the fans’ fury and frustration has been the players.
I think that is something which has changed since that Liverpool game, where United fans look at these players and they give them a lot of stick. They chant ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ which has been sung at them by our away support, which is in my opinion the best in the world. For them to do that, they're very loyal. I’ve seen them sing for Louis Van Gaal, David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when we knew they were going to get sacked.
The fans have very much laid the blame at the players’ door over the last 12 months, which has been a shift. And it needed to happen, as well as the constant of how the club is run.
What are your thoughts on Darwin Nunez and United missing out on signing him?
I think you get two trains of thought on that. When he goes to Liverpool, he’s rubbish and we never wanted him anyway and he’s a flop. That’s just the rivalry, isn’t it? I want him to flop, he’s a Liverpool player. But there are a lot of fans like myself that just have to say that he was a player that Ten Hag wanted and he chose Liverpool because they are in a much better position than us at the moment.
What I’ve seen of him before he went to Liverpool, I would definitely have taken him at United. What I’ve seen of him since he’s been at Liverpool, I would still take him at Man United. I don’t think he’s settled in yet, but he’s a chance magnet. I think when he gets a chance, he’s maybe not as smooth as Erling Haaland.
But he’s going to score a lot of goals at Liverpool, because Klopp will develop that side of his game. You don’t get that many chances by accident, he has a real knack of finding spaces and getting in good positions.
Yes, he’s missed a few, and the sending off was disappointing for Liverpool because he won’t be able to play against United. But I just think he’s going to be a success, I said that when they bought him and I think he will be a big success at Liverpool.
How will Man United’s plans have changed now that Nunez won’t play?
I think there’s a rumour that Harry Maguire won’t play, and I think there’s a feeling in the dressing room that they’re struggling with Ten Hag’s system and want to go with something more pragmatic. That means a back five, which where someone like Maguire does better, as we’ve seen with England.
With no Darwin Nunez, his aerial threat disappears. Not that Roberto Firmino is bad in the air, but that should allow us to play Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as a pair and we should be able to get higher up the pitch.
Although I think we’ll lose, I don’t think we can sit back against Liverpool like we did at Anfield. I think we’ve got to try and play the Ten Hag way. Without Nunez in the team, it just makes it slightly easier to do that. Because Nunez’s skill set probably meant that Maguire would have played.
How do you think Ten Hag will line Man United up against Liverpool?
I hope he makes changes, because when you get beat 4-0 by Brentford you just can’t pick the same team. I think Varane has to come in, I and many other fans can’t understand how he’s been sitting on the bench with his pedigree. Maybe Luke Shaw will move out for Tyrell Malacia, the new signing from Feyenoord.
Midfield will be really interesting, because that’s where the game will be lost in my opinion. We haven’t got Casemiro yet, and putting a midfield together is so difficult.
Ten Hag could go with McTominay and Fred, he can’t try Eriksen again as a holding midfielder, I don’t know what he’ll do. I personally would go with Fred, Eriksen and Donny van de Beek and try just and get hold of the ball.
The front three picks itself. It will probably be Jadon Sancho, Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford. But it’s midfield where we will struggle.
I don’t know what Liverpool’s line-up will be, I know that Thiago is injured. But I think that’s where the game will get lost for us.
Where do you think the key battles will be?
I think our attack will end up isolated and out of the game. Liverpool have a good defence as well. Our defence will get overrun and both of those things will happen because the midfield will get dominated. Like many United fans, I’ve got no faith in our midfield, and as we know games are won and lost there. That will be where Liverpool will take control.
I’ve been very impressed with Luis Diaz in the first two games, I know Liverpool haven’t had the results but he’s looked sharp. And, rather ominously, Mohamed Salah isn’t really firing yet, so they have got the quality to score. But midfield is where it will cost us, unfortunately.
There have been rumours of a planned walkout of Old Trafford and ‘Empty the Stadium’ talk. What are your thoughts on that?
You have to be really careful, I know Liverpool have had their issues in the past with their owners. I think the important thing, and we’ve seen it with the Super League, is to be unified and not dismiss other fans’ ideas.
This took off on social media that they wanted to empty Old Trafford, and the plan was always from those who are organising the protests to do a protest. So they have not supported it.
My opinion is that there are good intentions to empty the stadium, but you’re never going to do it. Even if you do it by 10 per cent, it doesn’t look anywhere near empty.
I don’t think you could even half empty Anfield or Old Trafford with a week’s notice. Whilst it’s got good intentions, the people who are saying we should do it should really listen to those who are saying we shouldn’t do it.
You want things to be impactive, and I just don’t see how you can empty a football ground, especially for a game like that. There are so many permutations, fans travelling from all over the world to watch the game, how do you reach all those people?
I think whenever you’re doing anything, you don’t want to tell people what to do, as well. A lot of people won’t turn up to the protest, but a lot of people will because it’s an invite thing. But telling people not to go to Old Trafford, with a week or two’s notice, is destined to fail and you don’t want something to fail.
Who is this a bigger game for - Liverpool or Manchester United?
It’s a good question because I do think it’s a big game for Liverpool. I’ve followed United for years and I know under Sir Alex Ferguson, we’ve started similar to the way Liverpool have and still won the league.
At the end of the season you’ll have played 38 games, you’ll probably draw five or six, lose two or three and you’ll still win the league. The way I would look at it if I was a Liverpool fan is that’s just two draws in the draw pile, as long as we don’t lose loads of games then we’ll be up there at the end.
If Liverpool were to lose at Old Trafford, not only will you suffer the embarrassment of United being above you in the league, but then that becomes a problem with two points from a possible nine.
For United, if we lose I still think we could get top four because Arsenal lost their first three last season and still fought for it. But if Liverpool were to lose, which I don’t they will but it could happen, then that starts to become a bigger problem, in my opinion.
Finally, what’s your score prediction?
I think it will be 2-0 to Liverpool. I think United will be better organised, I don’t think we’ll get done like we did both times last season. I wouldn’t say that’s impossible after losing 4-0 to Brentford, but I think it will be a better performance from United.
I don’t accept 2-0 to Liverpool, but where we’ve been in the last two games against you and the last two games of this season, as long as there’s been a better performance and we can build on it.
I’d be over the moon with a draw, I’d be ecstatic with a win and I don’t think it’s impossible. But logically I think that Liverpool are a long way ahead of us at the moment and I think they’ll be hurting after dropping points.
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