Manchester City and Chelsea may be setting a fierce pace at the top of the Premier League table and Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton may lay claim to providing fierce opposition for any team
On Sunday, Manchester United host Liverpool in a clash between two former giants of the game that have fallen somewhat on harder times.
Let’s take a close look at the fortunes of each of these two giants of the English league and as always, we’ll take a look at some great tips ahead of the clash for all you keen punters.
Those tips will focus on Bet365 – which is extending a valuable offer to new signups. Create a new account today and you can get a $100 free Bet365 Sports bonus.
Manchester United
Last season was a season to forget for the red half of Manchester. The appointment of David Moyes as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor was nothing short of a disaster, although some of the criticism aimed the ex-Everton man’s way at the time was highly unfair.
Moyes’ sacking seemed inevitable as United slumped into mid-table obscurity while the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, their two biggest rivals, vied for top spot in the table.
Ryan Giggs held the temporary manager’s post while United sought a top class replacement and in the summer they announced ex-Ajax, Barcelona and Holland boss Louis van Gaal as their man.
Since then, fuelled by a summer of spending in the transfer market, United’s season started slowly but has gained some momentum of late. Early season defeats by Swansea, MK Dons and Leicester set alarm bells ringing at Old Trafford once again but in recent weeks, the signs are that van Gaal’s team is now starting to adopt to his way of playing.
That is not to say everything is now rosy at Old Trafford. Due to their poor start and lack of European football, United only have the FA Cup left to chase as a realistic chance of silverware this season. Although many fans will feel securing Champions League football is of bigger importance to the club.
In the Premier League, despite a slow start, United have been in much better form of late and have moved up the table markedly in the past few weeks. They have won all of their last five, including an away win at Arsenal, and victory over Southampton on Monday night has seen them move into third place in the league table.
That said, all is still not perfect at Old Trafford. Defensively the site still looks worryingly open at times and with persistent fears about the long-term fitness of striker Radamel Falcao, currently earning £265,000 a week, there’s still lots left for van Gaal to busy himself with over the coming months.
A victory over rivals Liverpool on Sunday at the weekend would certainly help send them towards the busy Christmas period in a much better state of mind and a much stronger league position.
Liverpool
After almost winning the title last season but for dropping five points in their last three games, Liverpool started the current season with hopes that even after the sale of star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona, they could perhaps end their wait for a first league title in the Premier League era.
Brendan Rodgers invested a lot of money in signings such as Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Alberto Moreno and Mario Balotelli in the hope that they would propel Liverpool to top spot.
However, Suarez departure not to mention a succession of injuries to striker Daniel Sturridge has severely hindered Liverpool’s progress and this season, Rodgers men have struggled, already losing six games, the same amount as they lost in all of last season.
Far from chasing the title Liverpool lie in a hugely disappointing 9th position in the league, 15 points behind league leaders Chelsea and seven points behind United.
Rodgers problems are compounded by the fact that his once prolific side are now struggling to find goals and create chances, yet the defensive inconsistencies and issues that plagued the team last season are still very much in evidence.
The result has been a Liverpool side struggling for form and consistency, that leaks goals with unerring regularity and which does not possess the firepower of last season to overcome these problems by scoring more themselves.
With Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli unlikely to be fit for this game, it looks like Rickie Lambert will lead the line and it will be interesting to see how Liverpool line up against a United side that boasts some potent attacking weaponry.
Last season, Liverpool strolled to an easy 3-0 win at Old Trafford and that completed a rare double over United with the Reds having won 1-0 at Anfield earlier in the season.
This season, the chances of Liverpool emerging with any result from this encounter at Old Trafford looks slim.
Manchester United v Liverpool Tips
Old Trafford has hardly been a happy hunting ground for Liverpool over the years and even despite their slow start, United have established a good record at home, winning five and drawing one of their league games since their opening day defeat to Swansea City.
Liverpool’s away form has been erratic to say the least. They have won away from home 3 times, but lost three times, including three 3-1 defeats and its fair to day that a 3-1 United win at 14/1 with Bet365 looks a tempting bet here for a correct score bet.
Historically, the game between the sides has usually produced goals and as such, I can see United certainly scoring in each half and as such, the 2/1 available with Bet365 on Manchester United winning both at Half Time and Full Time also looks a very solid bet.
Alternatively, if you fancy an upset at Old Trafford at the weekend and believe that Liverpool can pull off an upset and emerge with the points, then you can get 3/1 with Bet365 on Brendan Rodgers men repeating their victory of last season.
Whatever the score, this is a game that is sure to be high on drama, tension and action and the result of which could have a significant impact on how the two sides perform this season.