Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Manchester United’s difficulties are greater than their position in the Premier League table and said he does not plan to rest any players when the two teams compete at Anfield.
Liverpool top the table with 45 points and with a game in hand over the other title contenders. They are six points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, while United, with five losses in their last six league games, are languishing 14th with 22 points.
While United are no longer the force they were during the Alex Ferguson era, Slot was taken aback when asked if he plans to rest any of his key players for the match on Sunday.
“No. Of course not,” Slot said. “For me, they have much better players than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It might take a while for (manager) Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players but they are much better than the league table shows.”
As for his own players, Slot insisted that the Defense Trent Alexander-Arnold concentrated in his task, despite the hypotheses that relate to the defense, whose contract ends in summer, with a signing for Real Madrid.
Liverpool’s talisman Mohamed Salah is also out of contract, along with club captain Virgil van Dijk, and has said a new deal is “far away”. The Egyptian leads the league with 17 goals and combined with his 13 assists, his goal contributions add up to one every 53 minutes.
When asked if Salah is lately in the world, Slot replied that it is difficult to compare the players.
“If I just look at my own team, Virgile (Van Dijk) also has a remarkable season, but he doesn’t have the numbers because he’s a defender,” the manager said. “The MO numbers spoke for themselves. If only you look at the numbers and the way you play, you’re definitely a wonderful player. “
Slot’s men, who have lost only one game this season, beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford in September and United have just one victory over their rivals in their last 13 league meetings.
Slot had good words for Amorim, who after their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Monday admitted his team could face possible relegation.
“Every manager sympathises with every other manager,” Slot said. “We all know how much pressure this job brings. It is something we like. He’s done so well at Sporting and I think he has a good squad of players so he will eventually bring the best out of them.”
Amorim, meantime, says Manchester United are “starving for leaders” during a turbulent period.
United will be able to welcome back skipper Bruno Fernandes at Anfield, after he was suspended for Monday’s dismal 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, while the club has triggered an option to extend former captain Harry Maguire’s contract by a year until 2026.
Definisher Maguire, 31, joined Leicester in 2019 and his contract will expire at the end of the season.
“I spoke to him (Maguire) this morning and told him what he wants on the pitch, we love him a lot,” Amorim said on Friday.
“Also, he has to improve as a leader. We all know the situation that he had here (losing the captaincy and falling down the pecking order) but we need him a lot in this moment, so we are going to trigger, happily, the option for him.”
Amorim added, “When you look at our team, we starve to death for the leaders on the ground. He is a leader.
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 1, 2025
United have lost 4 games in a row and were also eliminated from the League Cup of their recent depressing run.
The two maximum success clubs of a success in the history of English football may not go to Sunday that fit in a more contrasting way with Liverpool in the registration of the 20 Spotlight titles in English, despite the fact that Arsenal cuts the hole In six numbers after his victory in Brentford on Wednesday on Wednesday.
United the last time in Anfield nine years ago and submitted to 4-0 and 7-0 beating in two of its last 3 visits.
Amorim, however, expects his team to spend little time on the education floor this week.
“In football, in one game anything can happen,” he said. “If you talk about the season, then almost every time the best team wins.
“Right now they are bigger than us, but we can win any game. We have to concentrate not on the context but on performance. We want undeniable things.
“Of course, it is a complicated moment because we lose too many games and we will face this year’s most productive team, but, as I said, with training, we prepare the team more and need functionality compared to the last game.
Amad Diallo is the only source of optimism at United in the difficult first two months of Amorim’s reign.
The Ivory is about to conclude a new long-term deal at Old Trafford for the Portuguese coach.
Joe Gomez faces an era of absence after being sidelined for at least two weeks due to a hamstring injury that forced him to forfeit the win against West Ham.
Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate, however, have returned to the first-team defensive formation. Dominik Szoboszlai, meanwhile, returns after a one-match suspension.
Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo; Luis Díaz.
Marcus Rashford, who has been closely linked to his departure from the club, will miss an illness.
United do welcome back Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte from suspension. Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw are all sidelined through injury.
Andre Onana; Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire; Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Noussair Mazraoui; Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo; Rasmus Hojlund.
This is the 216th meeting between English football’s fiercest rivals, with Manchester United winning 83 times, while Liverpool have emerged victorious in 73 of the encounters.
The United Victory in the last five games occurred in the FA Cup last season with a dramatic 4-3 victory in Old Trafford.
Their last league win was a 2-1 home win in August 2022 – their only top-flight success against the Reds in 13 games. The last win at Anfield for United was in March 2015, when Juan Mata netted a brace before Daniel Sturridge pulled one back for the home side.
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 2, 2025