📊EOTK Stats Pack: Man United v Liverpool - Form guide, late goals aplenty and MORE
We analyse some of the key stats and info ahead as Liverpool seek revenge at Old Trafford after last month's FA Cup exit
If Liverpool are to win the Premier League this season, they’ll need to overcome one of their sternest tests in the title run-in this weekend.
Manchester United would love nothing more than to halt the Reds’ gallop, especially when their own side are enduring such a wildly inconsistent and puzzling campaign which has left them with a mountain to climb simply to finish in the top five.
Jurgen Klopp’s team go to Old Trafford on a revenge mission after losing 4-3 in extra time to the Red Devils in the FA Cup just three weeks ago, a game they should’ve won inside 90 minutes, had they punished the home side when firmly on top in the second half.
Liverpool have bounced back from that disappointment with maximum Premier League points in the meantime to go top of the table, while United have thrown away stoppage time leads in their two previous matches.
While the Merseyside camp is certainly the happier of the two right now, the side from Manchester have previously summoned the spirit and determination of a scorned underdog to upset their arch-rivals when written off by so many pundits.
Ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford, let’s take a look at the form guide for both sides, as well as their head-to-head Premier League record, and delve into both teams’ tendency to win crucial points late in matches.
📈 Form guide: Man United and Liverpool’s last six Premier League games
Man Utd: W2, D1, L3, F10, A11, Pts 7
The last six matches are indicative of United’s season as a whole - a mixture of unconvincing wins, a frustrating draw and comprehensive or head-scratching defeats.
They’d actually been on their best run of the campaign before the loss to Fulham in late February, prior to which they’d won four successive games and taken 13 points from a possible 15.
For all their inconsistency, they’ve scored in 12 consecutive Premier League matches dating back to before Christmas, when they’d gone three in a row without netting once (0-3 v Bournemouth, 0-0 v Liverpool, 0-2 v West Ham).
Liverpool: W5, D1, L0, F15, A5, Pts 16
Liverpool have hoovered up 31 points from a possible 36 since Christmas, with the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal and 1-1 home draw against Manchester City the only blips in that time.
However, in nine league games since the 4-0 win at Bournemouth in January, the Reds have kept just one clean sheet, which came against Nottingham Forest at the beginning of March.
On Sunday they come up against the only team to prevent them from scoring in 48 matches in all competitions this season, with United having somehow left Anfield with a 0-0 draw in mid-December despite Liverpool having 34 shots that evening.
⚔️ Liverpool’s Premier League record v Man United
History is in United’s favour during the Premier League era, especially at Old Trafford, where the Red Devils have won 55% of top-flight games between these eternal rivals since 1992.
The 2-1 win for Erik ten Hag’s side in this fixture last season was their first at home in five attempts in the league, having won 11 of the previous 15.
Liverpool won twice in a row at Old Trafford in 2021 (4-2 in May, 5-0 in October), prior to which they’d triumphed just twice at the venue in the top flight in 16 visits.
The Reds are usually good for at least one goal in this fixture - only twice in the last 15 league meetings at United have they been kept scoreless (0-0 in 2018/19, 0-3 in 2014/15). They’ve also scored at least three goals in each of their four wins there since 2008/09.
🗨️ Will Liverpool finally end their uncharacteristic Anfield jinx against Brighton this weekend? Give us your score predictions in the comments below
🔙 Last Old Trafford meeting (Premier League)
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool, 22 August 2022
Neither team sprinted out of the blocks last season, with Liverpool held to draws by Fulham and Crystal Palace, while United were reeling from a home defeat by Brighton and a 4-0 thrashing at Brentford.
Jurgen Klopp’s side romped to a 5-0 victory at Old Trafford on their previous visit, with some optimistic fans perhaps eyeing a repeat scoreline given the mood of crisis around Manchester.
However, United were unrecognisable from the rabble which suffered humiliation in west London nine days previously and hit the front through Jadon Sancho on the quarter-hour mark.
Marcus Rashford doubled the lead shortly after the interval to give the home side a 2-0 lead for which they were good value, and although Mo Salah halved the deficit on 81 minutes, it was too little too late from a lethargic Liverpool.
They’d get their revenge in style at Anfield later in the campaign, but this result was a portent for where the two teams would end up in the final Premier League table (third and fifth respectively).
⌛ The Late Late Show - points won by Man United and Liverpool in the 76th minute or later this season
‘The Late Late Show’ has been a staple of Irish television since 1962, making it the world’s longest-running live talk show, and it’s a term which could also be applied to both of these teams during the 2023/24 campaign
The table below reflects how many points each side has gained with goals scored in the final 15 minutes of normal time:
Their figures are broadly similar, with three stoppage time winners each in the Premier League. Scott McTominay (2 v Brentford), Bruno Fernandes (Fulham) and Kobbie Mainoo (Wolves) have all struck deep into added time for United; while Darwin Nunez (Newcastle and Nottingham Forest) and Harvey Elliott (Crystal Palace) conjured up last-gasp winners for Liverpool, in addition to Luis Diaz’s equaliser at Luton.
🗨️ Will there be more late drama involving these two teams at Old Trafford on Sunday? Join in the discussion in the comments below.
Klopp’s side have made a habit of recovering points from losing positions this season, and they’ve frequently done it from the 76th minute or later. They were behind against Newcastle, Fulham and Palace at that juncture before going on to win, while also rescuing a late point away to Manchester City and - most recently - scoring twice to see off Sheffield United last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have scored winning goals in the final 15 minutes of no fewer than eight league matches, and that’s before we mention the late winners they nabbed against Forest and Liverpool in their last couple of FA Cup games.
However, in recent days they’ve actually thrown away points in stoppage time, having led at both Brentford (scoring in the 96th minute) and Chelsea with 98 minutes on the clock, only to end up drawing 1-1 and losing 4-3 on those respective trips to west London.
Based on what both teams have shown since August, we don’t think there’ll be too many leaving Old Trafford early on Sunday afternoon.
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