The fortnight of dullness and off time will soon give way to what is, by many definitions, the biggest fixture of the year. Just three days until Manchester United visit Liverpool for a crucial rivalry clash.
The international break had an extra level of cruelty for fans of both Liverpool and Manchester United, as supporters of both sides saw a key player go down with a significant injury. Boredom and dullness wasn’t the primary concern for fans during this two week period, learning about and adjusting to the loss of a big contributor on the pitch was.
For United fans, it’s Marouane Fellaini, a scrappy player who always does the necessary dirty work, but also emerged as a scorer lately. Fellaini damaged his knee ligaments on international duty for Belgium this past Saturday, and he will be gone for a couple weeks.
United Manager Jose Mourinho will also be without the services of Paul Pogba after confirming that he believes is still a a “long-term” injury. (It didn’t stop him from posting another dance party video on Instagram however this week)
So while there’s a bit of an injury crisis in midfield, at least they got a boost in the back line, as Phil Jones will be returning to action.
Fellaini’s Belgium teammate, Romelu Lukaku, has recovered from an ankle problem, and he should be ready to face Liverpool. Belgian manager Roberto Martinez rested him this week, but maintained that Lukaku was fit to play in World Cup qualifiers if needs be. He wasn’t needed as Belgium already qualified for Russia 2018.
MUFC starting XI prediction: go to this link
Liverpool starting XI prediction: go to this link
Liverpool injury report: go to this link
For a combined starting XI of the two teams, go to this link.
For another collection of news items related to this match, go to this link.
Prediction: Manchester United 1, Liverpool 1
As always, feel free to comment below with your predicted line-up and/or score for Saturday’s match.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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