October 25 will see Liverpool play host to Manchester United. Often matches between the ‘big four’ are built up with such a furore and excitement that it sometimes provides an anti-climax to proceedings. However United vs Liverpool is something special.
Last season saw Benitez and his team triumph twice over United, including a mammoth 4-1 victory at Old Trafford. Other matches in the past have provided similar shocks, with United twice stealing victory with last minute goals from Rio Ferdinand, and on another occasion, John O’Shea. I get the feeling this season could be just as exciting.
Unfortunately I also get the feeling that the limelight may not be on the football being played, but possibly on the off-pitch events surrounding both clubs. Liverpool owner George Gillett is reportedly close to selling his shares to Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud (whose name should probably be longer by the way), another Middle Eastern investor…surprise, surprise.
This will no doubt be exciting news for manager Rafa Benitez, who was supposedly told earlier this season that he would have to make do with a £20 million transfer kitty each season for the next few years. This factor should not affect Liverpool’s on-pitch performance this weekend; however, there have been other concerns for the team. Rafa Benitez has in recent weeks publicly stated his disappointment at the performances of his most important players, Torres and Gerrard (so essentially his only players).
But, jokes aside, other members of the squad have failed to perform this season. Jamie Carragher looks somewhat out of sorts so far this season, looking slow and clumsy at times, a total contrast to his usual self. However he hasn’t scored one of his trademark own goals yet so things could be worse for the Everton fans. One positive for Liverpool is the performances of new signing Glen Johnson who has made the right-back position his own through some outstanding performances for the team. He could well be a big danger to the United defence if he’s given the chance to get forward.
United will no doubt face similar problems. Off the pitch, Sir Alex is embroiled in the ongoing referee row, which I can only fear will affect how referees act towards United in future games. Ok, so referees are supposed to be unbiased, however, who could blame them for feeling resentment towards Ferguson after the comments he made? All eyes will be on any decisions the officials make in United’s matches over the next few weeks, and I can only think that this will result in yet another Ferguson-Benitez conflict, which will no doubt be started with Bentiez revealing his ‘fax/facts’.
In fact I still to this day have no idea which one he meant. Someone should inform him that we have emails nowadays.
On-field, United also face problems. They have had a more stable start to the season than Liverpool. I say stable because it has been far from inspiring. They seem to be missing a certain spark – a certain greased up, now playing in Spain, spark. Everyone knew United would be a different team without Ronaldo, but so far they have shown that they can still achieve results without him, just. Wayne Rooney is beginning to look like he can fill the winger’s boots, and I swear I’ve even seen Berbatov break into the odd sprint this season, but the team still appear to be struggling.
On-field performances don’t fill united fans with confidence and the United midfield has been questioned by some pundits. Anderson has failed to live up to his potential and is very inconsistent, and for some reason Michael Carrick can’t even buy a starting spot at the moment. Perhaps that is because Darren Fletcher is performing so well. He has become such an important player for United in big matches and he will be a key man against Liverpool this weekend. If he can keep Steven Gerrard under wraps then United will have a great chance to gain three points at Anfield.
Other teams have managed it. Against Chelsea, Gerrard failed to perform because he was so tightly marked by the tireless midfield. However, if United are to stand a chance, they have to stop conceding sloppy goals.
So far this season Ben Foster has done well to fill in for the injured Van der Sar, however, he has made some massive errors. Van der Sar is now back from injury, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him given a starting place this weekend. He would solidify the defence and bring back the sense of confidence that was present last season. Rio Ferdinand has also had some questionable performances of late, with many asking if his fitness is good enough yet.
All in all, history suggests it’s bound to be a tight affair, if you ignore the landslide 4-1 win for Liverpool last season. The fact that it’s at Anfield will provide the Liverpool team with a big boost. However, should Gerrard and Torres suffer an ‘off day’ then they will be in trouble. United are a team that are able to grind out results no matter how they play. That is the mark of champions, and is exactly what they’ll need traveling to Anfield.
