IF Manchester United thought their nightmare start to the season couldn't get any worse, a visit from their gloating rivals Liverpool could push them over the edge.
It's been well documented what a complete and utter shambolic mess United are on and off the pitch and there is a smell of revolt and flaming pitchforks in the air.
And no wonder after an opening day defeat by Brighton and a truly chastising battering from Brentford giving new manager Erik ten Hag the worst possible start.
New blood does seem to be arriving, but as usual with the current Old Trafford board, there appears to be no thought process behind it and it appears to be a desperate attempt to placate an enraged support. And new signing Casemiro won't be available tonight.
However, Liverpool have hardly started the season on fire either with two underwhelming score draws at Fulham and at home to Crystal Palace.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has looked rattled recently and his mood will have hardly have been improved with an injury and suspension crisis that will rob him of key men Thiago, Diego Jota and Darwin Nunez, among others
However, with Liverpool strong favourites for a visit to Old Trafford, there's not much confidence in United pulling off what would be a major shock.
How the bookies view it
Liverpool can be backed at 8/11 with Betfred and will draw plenty of punters in. United are 4/1 with UniBet and the draw is 10/3.
Recent head to heads
Liverpool annihilated and humiliated United last season home and away winning 5-0 at Old Trafford and 4-0 at Anfield.You need to go back to 2018 for United's last win against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Here's that Old Trafford romp last season for the visitors.
Players to watch
Despite his huffs and strops, it still seems like Cristiano Ronaldo is United's best outlet for a goal and he's very much a man for the big occasions. He can be backed at 2/1 with UniBet to score anytime.
Liverpool will be looking for a big performance from Mo Salah, who looked slightly off it against Palace. The Egyptian magician is 6/5 to score anytime tonight with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
With confidence at an all-time low at United, you would expect Liverpool to come tearing out the blocks here and put as much pressure on that fragile United defence as soon as possible. An early goal could prompt the home fans to turn ugly here and that makes the 17/10 from SBK on Liverpool to win half time and full time very tempting.
For all United's failings, Liverpool are far from full throttle either and it might not be the mauling many have predicted. They have too many absentees to repeat last season's hammerings and it could be tighter than plenty think.
In fact, a narrow defeat would almost represent something of a United moral triumph in their current state. Take Liverpool to win and under 3.5 goals at 15/8 with bet365.
This English Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool will be played on Aug 22, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs Liverpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
