Liverpool and Manchester United meet at Anfield on Monday Night.
Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho embrace
Their last league clash at Anfield in January was decided by a Wayne Rooney strike and was widely seen by observers as one of the poorest in the modern era. It was more a case that both sides were playing not to lose, rather than be willing to play with adventure and win the game.
This season both teams have been revitalised by new signings, improvements by incumbent squad members and in Man United’s case, a new manager in Jose Mourinho – who would love nothing more than to get a win against Liverpool at his first attempt.
For Jurgen Klopp and his team, it presents an opportunity to keep up the Reds fine start to the season and go equal top of the table with Manchester City and Arsenal after eight games.
Despite there being plenty of talent on show, here are three players for each side that will have a major part to play in the result.
Sadio Mane – Liverpool
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane in action
The big money signing from Southampton has been a revelation for the Reds this season scoring three goals in the league and setting up numerous chances for teammates.
His creative instincts have caused opposition defences all sorts of problems this season and shapes as being the number one danger man for Man United on Monday night.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Man United
Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action
Ibrahimovic has never scored a goal or played in a winning side against Liverpool (D1 L3) in his time with Juventus and Inter Milan. However the big striker will not let that record worry him in the slightest when he comes up against the Reds this time around.
With Liverpool not possessing the tightest of defences, Ibrahimovic will be looking to add to his four league goals this season.
Jordan Henderson – Liverpool
It is not too far fetched to say that Jordan Henderson is in his best run of form since joining the club. While he has had a number of impressive performances with the Reds, he has struggled to back it up on a continued basis and seemed to struggle with the mantle of club captain that was given to him by former manager Brendan Rodgers at the beginning of last season. Given a new role of defensive midfielder, the 26-year-old has thrived in the role providing great leadership with his actions as well as words.
Paul Pogba – Man United
The return to the club of Pogba has been viewed by many pundits as underwhelming so far. Clearly he has the talent and has shown glimpses but nothing consistent as of yet.
It could just be a case of the Frenchman finding his feet in the Premier League again and there is no greater stage in English Football for him to produce a quality performance.
Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho scores their third goal
Like Mane, Coutinho has been a real creative influence for Liverpool this season. His wonderful two goal performance in the first game of the season against Arsenal was reminiscent of another South American, who plied his trade at Anfield in Luis Suarez.
That is a compliment of the highest order but truly deserved, as when in full flight there are not too many better players in the league than Coutinho. A slight flaw that the Brazilian has is he doesn’t always produce the same level of performance for the lower ranked teams. That should not be a problem on this occasion.
David De Gea – Man United
De Gea makes a habit of producing superb performances against the Reds, his latest coming in their Europa League tie in March. With Liverpool possessing a potent strike force this season, the Spaniard looks like being the man standing between them claiming the three points.
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