Premier League: Liverpool vs Manchester United betting preview

The Premier League campaign continues this weekend with matchday 17 of 38. However, Sunday will be the marquee clash with first-place Liverpool welcoming rivals Manchester United to Anfield. The kick-off here is scheduled for 11:30 AM EST. This is also known as the Northwest Derby. United was officially eliminated from the Champions League mid-week and hasn’t fared much better domestically, but we’ll get into that more below. As for the Reds, they’re a point clear at the top of the table and remain focused on an EPL title.

Northwest Derby history

This is one of the best rivalries in world football since the two cities aren’t far away from each other. When it comes to recent meetings, Liverpool has absolutely dominated United, winning four of the last five league encounters dating back to 2021. That includes a 7-0 thrashing in March where the Red Devils faced heavy scrutiny for their dismal performance.

Liverpool flying high

While it’s still difficult to get used to not seeing Liverpool in the Champions League, it’s allowed them to mostly focus on the Premier League. Sure, winning Europa wouldn’t be a bad accomplishment, but lifting the grand prize in England’s top flight means a lot more. Jurgen Klopp’s men are playing fantastic football this term, compiling an 11-4-1 record, and have yet to drop a single point in EPL play on home soil, going 7-0-0.

The Merseysiders have won three straight Premier League games, most recently taking down Crystal Palace last weekend, 2-1. The Eagles opened the scoring but once Jordan Ayew was sent off, Liverpool took advantage, with Mo Salah equalizing before Harvey Elliott scored a dramatic winner in injury time. 

Scoring goals has not been an issue by any means for this side, netting 36 times. Salah’s 11 goals and seven assists lead the way, while Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are both doing their part. Defensively, the Reds have conceded a mere 15 goals. That’s a massive improvement from the 2022-23 campaign. Liverpool appears to be back and has a legitimate shot at winning the title. But grabbing three points in games like Sunday is crucial. The hosts are a big -358 favorite at 888sport.

United in shambles

There’s no nice way to put it. The Red Devils are in shambles and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon Erik ten Hag’s men just finished at the bottom of their UCL group and won’t even have an opportunity to compete in Europa. Over in England, well, United is in sixth spot and six points off a Champions League berth with a 9-0-7 record.

The glaring problem is inconsistency. Just last week, Manchester grabbed a huge 2-1 win over Chelsea and then just days later, lost 3-0 to Bournemouth, a club that should not be beating them. To make matters worse, they also tasted defeat against Bayern on Tuesday, which means the Red Devils head into this affair fresh off back-to-back defeats. The attack has looked absolutely abysmal, scoring 18 goals in 16 games. Scott McTominay’s five goals are the most on the squad. He’s a midfielder. You can see what I mean.

United desperately needs a positive result here, but it’s hard to imagine that happening when they’re in such atrocious form. There’s a reason the visitors are an underdog at soccer betting sites.