Graeme Souness believes that Manchester United supporters' planned protest against the club's owners is all the motivation Liverpool need to do a number on their arch rivals on Monday evening.
Fed up fans of the Red Devils have seen their club make a hideous start to the new Premier League campaign with back-to-back defeats including an embarrassing trashing at the hands of Brentford in their last outing, leaving them pointless after two matches.
Core fans of the North West giants have long called for the removal of United's American owners, The Glazers, and are expected to protest outside Old Trafford this evening ahead of the high profile showdown with Jurgen Klopp's side tonight. Some sections of the support, including rising, underground fan group the 1958, are planning to walkout of the ground in the 73rd minute. Not all supporter groups back this approach however, resulting in a divide between the fan base.
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Former Liverpool captain and Sky Sports pundit Souness thinks such disharmony in their ranks both on and off the pitch should be pounced upon by Jurgen Klopp's team this evening, something he would relish having a taste of himself, if he was still playing.
Speaking this morning on TalkSPORT, he said: "I would love it, love it. It would be a motivation for me. Where I do I start with this? You’ve got Man United players that are looking for an excuse right now, you’ve got some people you would not want to be in the trenches with and it’ll only give Liverpool a lift and a excuse to those weak - I’m on live radio I’ve got to be careful what I call them - but I will call them weak players for Man United who have not stood up, they’ve been bottle jobs.
"That’s last year, they’ve showed signs of it this year, man up, man up, take responsibility. Deal with the disappointment that comes along and then grow and become a bigger player going forward. Right now, what you’re seeing from Man United players is they’re looking for excuses, blaming the manager, the demonstration, they’ll be doing anything but holding the mirror up and looking at themselves in it saying could I have done more?"
This evening's planned protest will not be the first time that United supporters have shown public disapproval in this significant fixture. During the 2020-21 season, fans broke into Old Trafford ahead of their Premier League match against Liverpool and invaded the pitch and stands. Their actions led to the match being postponed - something, if repeated, Klopp believes his side should be awarded all three points for.
Souness is certain that the off-field troubles will impact the concentration of United's players, who are grappling with enough issues on the field as it is.
He added: "The players I’m sure they’ll be distracted by it, the Man U players. The Liverpool players will be thinking more of that, we’re here to play a game of football. I was there a couple of years ago when the supporters broke into the stadium and it’s not good. They broke into a stadium, smashed doors to get into the stadium and we were on a gantry on the first tier of seats at Old Trafford.
"Some university graduate has thrown a bottle of beer at me which missed my head by three or four inches, another has fired a flare. You can’t do that, you’re allowed to demonstrate in this country but it has to be within the rules of the law we live under - you can’t be breaking them.
"The last time it happened it was not good and it didn’t do Man United any good, it showed Man United supporters in a bad light. Turn up make noise that’s where it should stop. But Liverpool will benefit from it, Man United players won’t and they’ll have to have that in mind and the job is hard enough for the Man United players right now."
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