Liverpool vs. Manchester United: A rivalry explored | OneFootball

Manchester United face fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday as the Premier League returns from the international break.

A common history

Manchester and Liverpool are just 35 miles apart. Both cities are rooted in the working classes and underwent substantial industrialisation during the Victorian era, even sharing the world’s first inter-city railway. Each has since risen from the ashes of decline to re-establish itself as a Northern powerhouse.

Both cities have a strong musical tradition. Liverpool spawned The Beatles, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Lightning Seeds. Manchester provided New Order, Joy Division, Oasis and the Stone Roses. Each has built an iconic culture, accent and dialect.

The cities even align politically. The governors, or Metro Mayors, frequently join forces to fight for shared goals. Both are left-leaning cities with Labour controlled councils and together they voted ‘remain’ in the Brexit shambles despite being surrounded by a sea of ‘leavers’.

They have more in common than either side wants to admit because those same similarities breed a fierce competition. A conflict encapsulated by the rivalry between the two most successful teams in the history of English football: Liverpool and Manchester United.

Who is more successful?

Between them the two clubs have won 40 league titles, 21 FA Cups, 16 League Cups, 37 FA Community Shields, 18 European trophies and three intercontinental titles.

Thanks to Liverpool’s Premier League title triumph last season – and United’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final – the team from Merseyside lead in terms of the number of trophies won with 69 to United’s 68.

When did the rivalry begin?

The two clubs have never really been at the peak of their powers simultaneously. They were briefly in direct competition from 1964 to 1967 when Matt Busby’s United traded titles with Bill Shankly’s Liverpool.

The sides then drifted in opposite directions and that has been the case ever since. Each set of fans enviously watching the other celebrate glory and titles – stoking the smouldering rivalry.

In the 1970s and 1980s Liverpool dominated English football winning 11 championships as Manchester United went 26-years without a league title. But the script was flipped at the beginning of the 1990s when Sir Alex Ferguson’s United embarked on a period of domination that delivered 13 Premier League titles.

Liverpool went 30-years without winning the championship between 1990 and 2020. The drought ended in the 2019-20 season under Jürgen Klopp. The title triumph was repeated last year by Arne Slot. Meanwhile, Manchester United struggled to rebuild following the departure of Sir Alex and has fallen to all-time low in the Premier League era – finishing 15th last term.

Head to head record

United still have the edge in the historic head-to-head record (80 wins to Liverpool’s 59 in 206 matches, per transfermarkt) but Red Devils fans have been scarred by maulings in recent years – most notably the 7-0 capitulation at Anfield in 2023.

Amorim’s side head into Sunday’s Premier League clash as serious underdogs. They have failed to win away from home since March and also failed to win back to back Premier League games at all under the Portuguese manager.

However, after witnessing Liverpool lose their last three matches – 2-1 to Crystal Palace, 1-0 to Galatasaray and 2-1 to Chelsea – there are reasons for optimism for the Red Devils.

How United can win

Manchester United adopted a more direct approach in the 2-0 win over Sunderland before the international break and that tactic could work well against a Liverpool defense that has struggled this season.

United goalkeeper Senne Lammens hit 86.4% of his 44 passes long down the pitch on his debut against Sunderland. That compares to just 56.5% on average by predecessor Altay Bayındır this season, according to Opta.

With 6’4” striker Benjamin Šeško now leading the line and Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konaté, who faces a late fitness test, full of errors this term, the battle could prove productive for the visitors.

Liverpool also have problems at full-back. Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai have all played on the right as Slot continues to search for a successor to Trent Alexander-Arnold. On the left, new signing Miloš Kerkez is yet to prove himself an upgrade on Andy Robertson.  The 21-year-old will be up against right-sided No.10 Bryan Mbeumo, who has made more off-the-ball runs in behind than anyone else in the Premier League.

Off-the-ball runs could also provide the major danger to United. Bruno Fernandes is world class in attack but the Reds Devils captain has been deployed in a deeper central midfield role by Amorim and we have already seen this term that tracking players defensively is not his forte.

Fernandes could be up against Florian Wirtz at Anfield and while the $145m summer signing is yet to show the same level of productivity as at Bayern Leverkusen (57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games) he has made the second most off-the-ball runs in the Premier League this season.

Top scorers

Mohamed Salah is always a threat against United. The Egyptian forward has scored more goals against the arch-rivals than any other Liverpool player – netting 16 times in 17 games. The 33-year-old has appeared a little below par this season but always seems to raise his game against the Red Devils.

United’s current top scorer against Liverpool is Marcus Rashford, with  seven goals in 19 games. The fact he has been sent on loan to Barcelona is a good indicator of the differing fortunes of the clubs.

Despite the arch-rivals moving in opposite directions, Amorim secured a 2-2 draw against Slot’s Liverpool at Anfield last season. A repeat would be seen as a huge success.