Man Utd vs Liverpool preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Two of England’s most decorative teams, Manchester United and Liverpool will renew their rivalry, this time in a friendly encounter at South Carolina as part of their United States preseason tour at the Williams-Brice Stadium.

Both teams are already deep into their preseason preparations with United playing three matches already while Liverpool have played two so far.

While this clash will be deemed friendly, it won’t take long before both sides commence a fierce competitive rivalry as they’re set to meet on match day three of the upcoming Premier League season.

It will be a reunion of two former rivals, Erik Ten Hag and Arne Slot who will look to get the better of each other in what is already tagged the ‘Dutch derby’.

Both have previous encounters from their time coaching Dutch giants Ajax and Feyenoord, each securing two victories, with Ten Hag emerging victorious in their most recent confrontations.

This encounter in the United States is an early test for Slot, who recently took over the reins at Liverpool from the club’s legendary manager Jürgen Klopp. The new era has begun well, with the 19-time English champions winning both of their friendly matches in America. They achieved a tight 1-0 victory over Real Betis in Pittsburgh, followed by a 2-1 win against Premier League rivals Arsenal in Philadelphia.

Last season’s encounters between United and Liverpool were fiercely contested, highlighted by the thrilling 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final victory. Even their previous 2022 pre-season clash in Thailand was notable– where Erik ten Hag celebrated his first win as United’s manager with a 4-0 thumping of Liverpool featuring goals from Jason Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial, and Facundo Pellistri.

The main storyline this weekend revolves around Liverpool’s new head coach, Slot who is tasked with succeeding the esteemed Jürgen Klopp at Anfield. The former Feyenoord manager has had a promising beginning, guiding Liverpool to pre-season victories against Arsenal and Real Betis.

Meanwhile, United are further along in their preparations, with this being their final pre-season match before facing their city rivals, Manchester City, at Wembley on August 10th to kick off the 2024/25 season. Ahead of the Community Shield clash, Ten Hag aims to conclude United’s summer campaign positively.

Following a pattern of alternating losses and wins in pre-season, the Red Devils bounced back from their narrow defeat to Arsenal when Real Betis came to the Snapdragon Stadium in California where the San Diego crowd witnessed an exhilarating opening 35 minutes.

Goals from Iker Losada, Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo, and Casemiro highlighted a first half where the defence took a backseat for both teams. Despite Diego Llorente’s effort creating a tense final half-hour, the Red Devils secured their second friendly victory of the summer with a 3-2 scoreline.

Nevertheless, the friendly victory in San Diego offered little solace for Manchester United amidst their spate of pre-season injuries as the likes of Marcus Rashford, Lenny Yoro and Rasmus Højlund are all nursing implications.

United’s head coach, Ten Hag will hope to use the Liverpool fixture as a preparatory match ahead of the coming Community Shield final against Premier League champions, City.

The Dutch coach will be weary of the fact their neighbours will be out for revenge after that loss in the FA Cup final. Hence, putting up a strong performance against an impressive Liverpool side will be high on his agenda.

Both Liverpool and United have had some players impress in preseason so far.

For United, Mad Diallo’s performances have given every indication that he’s ready to step into the first-team fold having spent a lengthy part of last season away.

The Ivorian only returned towards the tail end of the season and his winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup was one of the highlights of his United career since joining from Atalanta.

He opened his preseason account against Betis and will hope to find the back of the net again on Sunday.

On the other hand, Harvey Elliot has shown outstanding performances in his number 10 role in Slot’s new system. He regularly keeps the game flowing, pulling strings and dictating play in a Coutinho-esque manner.

The 21-year-old has been instrumental to Liverpool’s progression with the ball and will look to dictate play again when he faces United on Sunday.

Man Utd vs Liverpool match details

• Date: Sunday, August 4, 2024.
• Location: Columbia, South Carolina.
• Venue: Williams-Brice Stadium
• Kick-off time: 12.30 am BST
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Liverpool vs Manchester United tickets from trusted reseller Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

•Liverpool have lost only two of their last 15 matches against United since 2016. However, the Reds have recorded only one victory in their last five matches against United.

•According to a stat by Squawka, United have recorded an average of 3.3 goals per game in their last three preseason matches.

•Since the 1-0 loss to Norwegian side, Rosenberg, the Red Devils have gone on to score in their next three preseason matches.

•These two sides have met 242 times with United leading in the head-to-head difference with 91 wins ahead of Liverpool with 81, while 70 of these clashes have ended in a draw.

• Ten Hag and Arne Slot have recorded two victories apiece against each other in the Eredivisie.

• Liverpool have failed to win any of their last three matches against the Red Devils

• So far in the preseason, United have lost two matches against Rosenberg and Arsenal while Liverpool have won their two matches in preseason against Betis and Arsenal.

Team news

Ten Hag will be biting his nails over the fitness of new signing, Leny Yoro who fractured his metatarsal in the shootout loss to Arsenal. The 18-year-old is expected to miss up to two months of action as he continues his recuperation from injury.

Marcus Rashford and Antony were injured in the clash against Betis but Antony made a return against Arsenal as a substitute for Diallo. It is unclear if the Brazilian has retained full match fitness to start against Liverpool but is expected to have a cameo in the clash.

Rasmus Højlund is also on the injury list and in a race against time to recover against City in the Community Shield final.

For Liverpool, Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch returned to the squad following their participation in the recently concluded European Championship in Germany.

Both players are expected to feature against United alongside Diogo Jota who marked his return to the team with a 45-minute cameo against Arsenal.

Andrew Robertson remains sidelined while Curtis Jones recovered to feature in the win against the Gunners.

Predicted starting lineup

Man Utd predicted starting lineup:

Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Evans, Lindelof, Amass; Casemiro, Eriksen; Diallo, Mount, Mejbri; McTominay.

Liverpool predicted starting lineup:

Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van den Berg, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Jota, Carvalho.

Prediction

This clash is usually tagged as fierce. In Sir Alex Ferguson’s words: “It doesn’t matter if we’re playing tiddlywinks when we get together, you expect sparks to fly.”

United will be looking to make a mark in the Premier League next season after a poor campaign last time and ending their campaign on a high ahead of a trophy-deciding clash against City will be high on their agenda.

Slot on the other hand will hope to make Liverpool the fiery force they’ve always been and will look to add a third successive victory in preseason when his side faces United.

Liverpool are the better side but United are the better-prepared side who will aim for a strong finish to their preseason campaign.

We’re predicting a 2:1 win for Man Utd.