Let’s try this again- this time without the trespassing and vandalism. Manchester United is set to host Liverpool at Old Trafford in the Premier League, take two, on Thursday night. The first attempt saw protests morphing into breaking and entering, and later destruction of private property in scenes that evoked the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
While the actual cause itself has a lot of merit, and the cause itself is noble, the means taken by about a couple hundred United supporters (while the rest of the approximately 10,000 were peacful) were indefensible.
Manchester United vs Liverpool FC FYIs
Kickoff: 8:15 pm GMT Thursday, May 13, Old Trafford
Team News: Manchester United Liverpool FC
Starting XI Predictions: Manchester United Liverpool FC
TV/Stream: NBCSN/NBCSports.com
Odds: United win +180, Liverpool win +135, Draw is +255.
Team News
It sounds like we won’t see team captain Harry Maguire again until the Europa League final on May 26, if that. United’s top central defender suffered an ankle injury this past Sunday in the win over Aston Villa.
“We’ve had scans and the good news is there’s no fracture, it’s ligament damage, hopefully we’ll see him again this season and hopefully he’ll be ready for the final,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said to MUTV.
Harry Maguire is unlikely to be risked for any match other than the won with a trophy on the line, in Gdansk against Villareal. Elsewhere winger Dan James is now in the long term injury category, joining forward Anthony Martial and centreback Phil Jones.
Prediction: Manchester United 1, Liverpool FC 1
This match just screams stalemate
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.