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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Isaac Johnson

Three pundits disagree on their Liverpool vs Manchester United score predictions

Paul Merson and Chris Sutton are both in agreement that Manchester United will win at Anfield on Sunday, but Mark Lawrenson has backed the home side to secure victory.

United's last league defeat came in November, while Liverpool come into the contest unbeaten in four top-flight games albeit lost 5-2 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Erik ten Hag's side are ten points ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League table, which will extend to 13 should United earn their first win at Anfield since 2016. The visitors will be eager to avenge last year's 4-0 defeat on Merseyside and are enjoying a much better season than their old rivals.

READ MORE: United have Casemiro problem

Several pundits have had their say on what they believe may unfold during the game, with two predicting exactly the same scoreline in favour of United.

Paul Merson (Sportskeeda)

"This is how quickly football changes. You'd be surprised if Manchester United got beaten here. How many times have we been able to say that about this game in the last few years? The way Manchester United are playing, they will take the game to Liverpool.

"They are excellent on the counter and their players seem to make the right decisions whenever they break. United will want Liverpool to have a go at them so that they can hit them on the counter. Klopp's side could play right into United's hands on Sunday.

"Marcus Rashford will be looking to put Trent Alexander-Arnold under pressure much like Vinicius Junior did in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago. If United beat Liverpool, their confidence will be high and they will keep themselves in the title race for now.

"Erik ten Hag seems to know exactly how to handle his players. Tactically, he is very good. In the Carabao Cup final, his substitutions were spot on and he made the right decisions.

"He killed the game at the right time by making some really good defensive substitutions. It just shows you that a club just needs a good manager to maximise their potential."

Prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United

Chris Sutton (BBC Sport)

"Manchester United were finding it tough against West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday but they changed the game when they brought on Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, and went up through the gears.

"Liverpool don't seem able to do that at the moment and the turnaround - for different reasons, good and bad - for both teams since the start of season has been unbelievable really.

"Jurgen Klopp's side have kept a couple of clean sheets in a row now, against Crystal Palace and Wolves, which was important for them but it's really not that big a deal because neither of those teams offer much in attack, do they?

"Liverpool did the same last month when they beat Everton and 10-man Newcastle without conceding, but then they got hammered at home by Real Madrid.

"Put it this way, I don't think it means Liverpool will keep Rashford out on Sunday. They get dominated in midfield and are vulnerable at the back, and United will take advantage of that."

Prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United

Mark Lawrenson (Paddy Power)

"I was at Liverpool vs Wolves on Wednesday night and the visit of Manchester United was all anyone was talking about. I'm just going to go for Liverpool. They've kept clean sheets lately and they're slowly starting to look a bit better. It's just one of those games where I think they'll be on it and it will need a strong referee because the tackles will be flying in from everywhere."

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United

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