Liverpool vs Manchester United Prediction 5 January 2025

🔊 Will the Northwest Derby bring any surprises? The central event of the 20th round of the Premier League is rightfully considered to be the match that will take place at Anfield on January 5th. Liverpool will host Manchester United. The hosts are striving for the championship title, while the visitors are sliding towards the relegation zone. In such a situation, pre-match predictions from bookmakers were predictable - Arne Slot's team is seen as the clear favorite. An interesting detail is that the match will be refereed by Michael Oliver. This did not sit well with representatives of the "Red Devils," who believe that the referee has made a number of incorrect decisions in favor of United's opponents recently.

📊 Head-to-Head

Last season in this rivalry belonged to MU, who knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup quarter-finals (4:3), subsequently winning the tournament. In the league, the teams drew twice (0:0; 2:2), but at the start of the current campaign, the "Scousers" left no chance for the "Devils." Salah and company thrashed United at Old Trafford, with the Egyptian himself scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists.

🔴 Liverpool

A couple of slip-ups that Liverpool made at the beginning of December were quickly forgotten. Competitors are dropping points, and Arne Slot's men have gone on a three-game winning streak, culminating in a 5:0 thrashing of West Ham. During this period, the "Reds" scored 14 goals - just 7 fewer than the "Devils" have scored since the start of the championship (and that's with a game in hand). The attacking efficiency of the hosts is impressive, and there are no signs of a sudden decline. It's no coincidence that statistical portal OPTA estimates Liverpool's chances of winning the championship at 87.8%. As for the upcoming match, a problem for the "Scousers" could be the center of defense, where they cannot rely on Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.

😈 Manchester United

In Manchester, things are very bad - this is a brief but apt description of the current state of affairs. The team has suffered four consecutive defeats, three of which were in the Premier League. Most disappointingly, United failed to score against Bournemouth (0:3), Wolverhampton (0:2), and Newcastle (0:2). Ruben Amorim lost 5 out of his first 8 EPL matches at the helm of MU, setting a club anti-record, causing the "Devils" to finish a calendar year below 7th place for the first time in 35 years. 14th place is a real catastrophe for a once-great team. In the upcoming match, injured Lindelof, Shaw, and Mount will not assist their teammates, but personnel losses are certainly not the root cause of failures.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

The Northwest Derby rarely leaves us without goals. To be precise, in 8 of the last matches, only once was there not an "over" on goals. Considering Liverpool's monstrous form and MU's defensive issues, total over 2.5 goals should again play out.

🚩 Corner Prediction

If MU hopes for a result, they need to play strictly as the second number. Amorim understands this, so he will consciously concede territory to the hosts. The "Scousers" will likely take advantage of this and shoot a decent number of corners. They have surpassed 6.5 corners in 6 out of 7 recent head-to-head meetings with United in the Premier League, and this is precisely Slot's team's average indicator this season. So our bet is total over 6.5 corners from Liverpool.

📝 Match Prediction

There is an opinion that derbies are always outside context, meaning that in these matches, the current form of teams takes a back seat. To some extent, this statement can be agreed with; however, we believe it does not apply to the upcoming meeting. Liverpool is too good and shows almost no weaknesses, so it's extremely difficult to imagine what this MU can oppose them with. It is highly likely that another thrashing awaits the "Devils" at Anfield. Our assumption about the final score is rather bold - 4:0, but the key bet is cautious - Liverpool to win with a handicap (-1.5).