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Two of the Premier League’s greatest rivals, Manchester United and Liverpool, are set to meet at Old Trafford on Sunday – a titanic clash that could go a long way towards deciding whether the title remains in (the light blue half of) Manchester, or finally finds its way to Merseyside. 

Jurgen Klopp’s side will be desperate to take all three points. With Manchester City engaged in Carabao Cup action this weekend, a victory for the Reds would see them pull clear at the top of the table. Psychologically, this match could have a massive and lasting impact on Liverpool for the rest of the campaign.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be determined to make life miserable for the visitors. The Red Devils have been in fine form since the Norwegian coach’s appointment as interim boss, and will fancy their chances of wounding Liverpool’s title ambitions.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2.05pm kick-off…

What History Tells Us

In the Premier League era, United have largely had the better of this rivalry. Certainly, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge at Old Trafford, the Red Devils enjoyed sustained domestic dominance over the Anfield club. 

However, Liverpool have enjoyed some notable wins at Old Trafford. A memorable recent triumph came in 2014, when the Reds, then under Brendan Rodgers, were inspired to a 3-0 win over their old foe by iconic former club captain Steven Gerrard, who scored two penalties and hit the woodwork with a third.

Klopp will be hoping for another outing like that one this weekend. In that campaign, despite the success at the Theatre of Dreams, Liverpool’s title bid ultimately faltered and Manchester City were able to claim the league crown. The setup this season is certainly familiar, but will the outcome be any different?

Key Battle

In the modern game, full-backs are an integral part of how many teams attack. Liverpool are certainly no different in this regard. 20-year-old right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been one of the breakout stars in Klopp’s squad, whilst ex-Hull City man Andrew Robertson has been a revelation in the left-hand berth.

Although the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane tend to hog the headlines, Liverpool’s coveted frontline would be far less effective without the ammunition Robertson provides. The 24-year-old Scot has already racked up six Premier League assists this season, and produces 1.3 key passes per game.

An incredible 10 yellow cards and a red were dished out in the first leg of the UCL clash between Man Utd and PSG. Watch 442oons hilarious take on the game in the video below…

He is equally effective defensively, consistently producing committed, disciplined performances, as evidenced by his average of 2.5 tackles per game. 

United would certainly be wise to pay plenty of attention to keeping Robertson quiet on Sunday. Solskjaer will also be looking to his own left-back, Luke Shaw, to prove himself a valuable weapon too.

Shaw’s career at Old Trafford has been impacted by numerous injuries and fitness concerns. The 23-year-old is now getting an extended run in the starting XI though and his quality is showing through. Whilst he can’t match Robertson’s end product, the 8-cap England international still provides the Red Devils with a creative outlet, as his average of 1.1 key passes per Premier League game proves.

Ref in Focus

Michael Oliver is one of the top flight’s most respected officials. The 33-year-old is one of only two English referees – along with Anthony Taylor – to be counted amongst the ‘elite’ category of referees by UEFA. Oliver, then, is well-placed to be able to maintain control of what will likely be a fiery and emotionally-charged encounter at Old Trafford on Sunday.

That being said, matches overseen by Oliver rarely pass without incident. Only one of the 18 referees to have overseen a Premier League game this season averages more penalty awards per game than Oliver. 

Liverpool fans especially ought to be pleased with this appointment. Not only does his 48% away team win bias this season bode well for them, the Reds have also won all four of the matches they’ve played on his watch this season. By contrast, Oliver has taken charge of two United games this season, of which the Red Devils have won one and lost the other.

Team News

In Solskjaer’s pre-match press conference, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, he gave an update on the fitness of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. The Manager sounded more confident of a return for the Frenchman, who Transfermarkt value at £54million, saying that they think the 23-year-old “might be ready” after missing the FA Cup win over Chelsea.

Aside from these fitness concerns, Solskjaer has further selection headaches to contend with. With Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones all available, the Norwegian must pick a centre-back pairing capable of shutting out the visitors’ dazzling attack.

What’s more, he must elect one of either Marcus Rashford or Romelu Lukaku to lead the line. Whilst the Belgian would provide greater aerial threat and physicality, 21-year-old Rashford would be the wise choice. The 31-cap England striker has been in fine form in recent weeks and has the pace and finishing ability to punish Liverpool if given the chance on the break.

With Virgil van Dijk having been suspended for Liverpool’s midweek Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, the 6’4” defender will be well-rested and ready to organise and lead his side’s defence. The Dutchman’s return will allow for Fabinho to be reinstated in the middle of the park too.

Alongside the Brazilian midfielder, club captain Jordan Henderson deserves to retain his place in the starting XI. The midfielder was fantastic against the German giants last time out and is clearly in fine form and supremely confident at this time. Between Fabinho and Henderson, Liverpool ought to possess enough midfield steel and defensive discipline to curtail the threat posed by Paul Pogba.

Klopp’s front three basically picks itself, but Xherdan Shaqiri is someone that the German coach will be looking to to provide a spark from the bench, should his side find themselves in need of it. Overall then, that’s just one change from the side that drew in midweek, with van Dijk replacing Naby Keita.

[ad_pod ]According to The Evening Standard, Charlton have received an offer worth £30m from an unnamed former banker, who is keen to take the reigns of the club from controversial owner Roland Dutchatelet.Belgian Dutchatelet has been in ownership of the South East London outfit since 2014, when he shelled out £17m to purchase the club. Since, it has pretty much all been downhill, with the Addicks slipping back down to League One having won promotion to the Championship in 2012.The 72-year-old seems to be in no denial about the hole he has dragged the club into and had even suggested to the EFL that take it off of his hands, although, of course, that proposal was quickly rejected.Veganism, solar energy, chasing promotion. Forest Green Rovers are one of the most unique clubs in the Football League. In the video above, Thogden catches up with their progressive owner, Dale Vince…While Charlton might be in turmoil off the pitch, Lee Bowyer and his team are doing an excellent job on it – the former Addicks player has guided them to fifth place, where, should they remain in that spot come the end of the season, they will have the opportunity to win promotion back to the second tier.Bowyer and his boys would undoubtedly be helped massively by a new influx of cash into the club, though, and most Charlton fans on Twitter think that Dutchatelet would be mad not to accept the eight-figure offer…

[ad_pod ]Celtic progressed to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup with relative ease this weekend, but fans aren’t too happy with the first of many big decisions for Neil Lennon.Lennon enjoyed a winning return to Easter Road on Saturday, cruising past his old side, now managed by former Leeds boss Paul Heckingbottom, thanks to goals from James Forrest and Scott Brown.The hosts put up little to no resistance if truth be told, and the match rarely felt like it had the emotion expected on a former manager’s return, especially considering Lennon only left the Edinburgh outfit at the end of January.

Forrest put the Hoops in front in the second half, firing a fantastic effort into the top corner after skipping past a couple of defenders, and Brown replicated the 27 year-old’s effort with a thunderous strike of his own from just inside the box.

Despite the relatively comfortable win though, fans aren’t happy with the performance of Mikael Lustig, who has looked a step off the pace all season.

Jeremy Toljan was superb immediately after joining on loan in January, but a poor performance in the Europa League gifted his spot back to Lustig, and fans are fuming at Lennon for sticking with the veteran over the promising German youngster.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill confirmed in his Aston Villa pre-match press conference that he expects to be without top goalscorer Lewis Grabban again on Wednesday, and it leaves him with a big striker conundrum.

On the chalkboard

Following a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Hull City on Saturday, you would think that O’Neill wouldn’t be thinking about making too many changes for the visit of the Dean Smith’s men.

However, the likes of Joao Carvalho and Karim Ansarifard pushed themselves into contention with goalscoring contributions from the substitutes’ bench against The Tigers, and the 66-year-old has a decision to make.

Daryl Murphy isn’t performing right now and doesn’t look likely to get a goal, while Leo Bonatini looked rusty on a rare start at the weekend following his January arrival on loan from Wolves.

Stick or twist?

That is the major call the former Republic of Ireland boss needs to make.

Check out Max’s verdict on Forest’s impressive 3-0 win over Hull in the video below…

Does he stick with two strikers, who are out-of-form if truth be told, on the pitch for what is a tough-looking clash against a Villa side with successive wins and clean sheets, or make changes?

Even if he drops one of the strikers it would allow either Carvalho or Ansarifard to come in and provide the remaining centre-forward and Joe Lolley with some much-needed support, and that seems like the best option.

Kortney Hause and Tyrone Mings proved that they are adept to dealing with height against Birmingham City given how well they dealt with Lukas Jutkiewicz at the weekend, and more tricky players could be the order of the day on Wednesday to pick up a much-needed three points.

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Newcastle played out a thrilling draw with Bournemouth on the south coast on Saturday, and Magpies fans are absolutely fuming at controversial referee Mike Dean.

Newcastle’s horrific away form finally looked to be turning around at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, as Salomon Rondon’s superb free-kick gave them a 1-0 lead late into first-half stoppage time.

The Cherries turned the game on its head after the interval though, with Josh King bagging the equaliser from the penalty spot before putting his side in front with just ten minutes remaining.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

While Matt Ritchie rescued a late point for the Toon Army with an incredible strike into the roof of the net, fans have been left wondering what could have been thanks to a series of questionable decisions by referee Dean.

Jefferson Lerma was extremely lucky to stay on the pitch for a terrible foul just 19 minutes into the match, and the Magpies had two very good penalty shouts, both of which were confidently waved away be Dean, who then awarded the home side a very soft spot kick.

The enigmatic man in the middle is the subject of much controversy at the moment due to his spat with Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, and the Twitter reactions down below will tell you exactly what Newcastle fans think of him…

How long will it take for Manchester City to find a replacement for Fernandinho! He’s 34-years-old in May and Tanguy Ndombele is the perfect fit to take his spot, so the club certainly need to stump up the cash quickly.

Last summer was a disaster as far as a midfielder was concerned. First it was Manchester United’s Fred, then Chelsea’s Jorginho, and one by one the rumours were proven untrue or City simply missed out. The fact of the matter is that it’s not good enough to only have one trustworthy, natural defensive midfielder at the club when you’re trying to win all four trophies.

This should have been sorted months ago, but City now find themselves looking at another option reportedly Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele. The Metro have claimed his club has slapped an £80m price tag on him, but the Premier League champions only value him at £60m if the report is to be believed.

Yes, no one likes to see clubs splashing money for the sake of it, but in truth, City just need to pay the cash and stop playing hardball.

The club have a reputation of not caring about transfer fees, but since their first trophy in 2011, that’s been far from the truth. The club had to spend stupid money to attract players from 2008 until the FA Cup win, but now they’re wary of seeming like fools.

Just look at the missed opportunities with Alexis Sanchez and Jorginho.

That’s a good position to be in, where you can afford to stick to your principles and not budge over your own valuation, but the Fernandinho situation needs to be sorted this summer and the club know it.

City should pay whatever it costs to bring Ndombele to the Etihad as he’d be the perfect replacement for the Brazilian. He’s strong, energetic and has great vision to break the press, as well as being able to offer a different dynamic in the final third. He proved that in both Champions League games against Pep Guardiola’s men this season.

City know what he’s capable of and at 22-years-old the initial investment, even if that is £80m, will be worth it ten times over in a decade.

City fans, who do you want to see replace Fernaandinho in the summer? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed in his Everton pre-match press conference on Thursday that midfielder Samir Nasri is a doubt having picked up a minor knock, and Irons fans were quick to have their say on the update on Twitter.

The Chilean manager revealed that the 31-year-old is suffering from a slight calf issue that could rule him out against the Toffees, as he continues to struggle to prove that he should remain at the London Stadium beyond this season.

That is when the Frenchman’s contract is due to expire, but he has only played 245 minutes of Premier League football for them since signing at the end of 2018, and may well miss out again on Saturday evening.

Some Hammers supporters who have had their say on the former Arsenal and Manchester City man clearly rate him though with one saying he was “gutted” by the news, which is hardly surprising given some of the flashes of quality he has shown  – such as his assist against Huddersfield Town before the international break.

Others were already looking to his future though, with some saying they hope he would be better next term, while others are hoping he won’t be kept on if he continues to be injury-prone – he has already been sidelined by a calf problem previously.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Former Sheffield United assistant manager Kevin Blackwell has spoken out about their promotion chances, speaking to Press Association Sport, as quoted by BT Sport.

What’s he said?

Blackwell, who certainly knows about the challenges of promotion at Bramall Lane having gone up to the Premier League alongside Neil Warnock with Sheffield United in 2006, assessed the chances of both Leeds and his ex-club.

He spoke about their strengths, but because of how close things are at the top of the Championship, found it difficult to come up with a prediction for who might claim the final automatic promotion play-off place.

“Leeds are more free-flowing at times and they create lots of chances. The Blades are a bit more pragmatic. They grind the results out.

“When Leeds are on the front foot they are very difficult to beat. But if there is a question mark it is defensively.

“The Blades seem to have more of a blend throughout the team. They’re quite strong at the back, they’re fairly steady in midfield and they can also get goals.

“But one point between the two? Do me a favour. It can turn on a draw. It’s too close to call right now.”

Is he right?

In terms of Blackwell’s assessment of both sides, he definitely has a point. Leeds have been an intriguing side to watch under Marcelo Bielsa, whereas Sheffield United seem to slide under the radar slightly, going about their business in a dogged and resolute fashion.

You can’t pick many bones with either team this season and a point between the two makes it incredibly tough to predict an outcome. However, the momentum could well be with the Blades.

They’re ten games without defeat in the league and they’ve also just beat their main promotion rivals in Leeds so if there are any favourites at this stage, Chris Wilder’s men may just about be in front.

The final eight games of the season will undoubtedly provide plenty of drama and it’ll be intriguing to see whether Sheffield United will be able to hold onto their advantage.

Saturday was a reminder that Orient aren’t invincible in the league, and now things are getting serious.

The draw against Barnet signalled the end of the O’s six-game winning run in the National League, with Justin Edinburgh’s side now just one point ahead of Salford City in the league table.

The two games in hand are a massive bonus for the east London side, but now these matches have become must-win events for the club, and from now until the end of the season Edinburgh must be treating each of the remaining seven games as if they are cup finals.

To go along with the literal cup final Orient play against AFC Fylde next month, the O’s have to ensure promotion to League Two is secured as quickly as possible and winning their three games in the span of eight days will be the perfect springboard for the title.

Edinburgh has the talent and squad depth to gain promotion to League Two before the O’s game away to Solihull Moors on the penultimate day of the season, but to ensure a party that day Leyton Orient have to take each game as they come in the National League, and ensure they don’t slip up in any of the remaining games.

Had it not been for the two games in hand Orient have, Saturday’s draw with their London rivals would have been seen as a calamitous day for the club in their bid back into the Football League. Now Edinburgh must rectify that slip up by getting back to winning ways on Tuesday night against Bromley, and a win will make all the difference in the world for the O’s.

Leyton Orient fans, can the O’s get to winning ways on Tuesday? Let us know!

As if things can’t get any worse for Newcastle United.

After suffering back-to-back losses in the Premier League, Rafa Benitez ended up losing a key piece of his defensive shape when Florian Lejeune was stretchered out in the loss to Crystal Palace.

It’s now been confirmed the Frenchman will be out for the season. Just as the Magpies were starting to develop a reliable defensive structure, Lejeune’s blow will now force Benitez to reshape his system. While moving to a four-man defence is a viable option, the Spaniard could also give those on the bench some chances.

Maybe now’s the time to finally draft long-time companion Federico Fernandez properly into his side. The 30-year-old defender’s experience factor in the Premier League and solid defensive skills make him the natural replacement to the injured Lejeune. It’s time to use the Argentine’s expertise to good use.

Even Ciaran Clark could find his redemption in the form of his compatriot’s injury. Following the loss at Stamford Bridge in early January, he’s been unable to make the team. An injury scare restricted his playing time, but it’s now time for the versatile defender to make his mark. Clark’s assertive defensive ability, leadership qualities and set-piece threat retain his ability to thrive at Benitez’s cut-throat system.

Indeed, he’s even a palpable goal threat at times.

Lejeune’s injury might destroy Newcastle’s morale, but it’s no time to grovel over it. Rafa Benitez has commendable options in stock and he’ll hope the experienced Fernandez or Clark can fill the defensive void to help the Magpies finish the season strongly.

Newcastle fans, do you think Lejeune’s injury will be a big blow to United’s defence? Join the discussion by commenting below…