LIVERPOOL VS MANCHESTER UNITED TACTICAL PREVIEW

Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday evening, a game that has been notoriously fiery since the emergence of the Premier League. The disparity in quality between the two teams in recent years has lessened the fieriness, but it’s a game of real history and rivalry.

Liverpool go into the game on a run of three straight defeats, with two of those coming in the Premier League. United have endured an inconsistent start to the campaign, but they might feel this is the ideal time to face the Merseyside club.

Arne Slot’s side won their opening five games in the league this season, but they were far from convincing. After a hectic summer transfer window, some of their new signings are taking their time to settle in, which has led to some underwhelming performances, despite picking up results.

Ruben Amorim will be hoping to see a repeat of their performance against Liverpool at Anfield last season, where they picked up a 2-2 draw. We’ve taken a look at how the two teams could setup, their weaknesses and strengths, and how this game could play out.

Liverpool will likely setup in a 4-2-3-1 on paper, but it’s unclear who will be starting. Slot has been rotating his side regularly throughout this season, partly due to the inconsistent form of some of his players. The likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, and Jeremie Frimpong haven’t hit the heights expected of them this season, hence the rotation, but their setup has remained largely the same.

Amorim, famously, hasn’t shifted from his 3-4-2-1 setup this season. His stubbornness to his system has caused plenty of controversy, but he’s been adamant that he won’t be changing while he’s in charge. It’s worked on occasions, but failed more often than not, with his midfield two being a major issue, which Liverpool could look to take advantage of.

Build-up

Out of possession, Liverpool setup in a 4-2-4 pressing system. The attacking midfielder, whether that be Dominik Szoboszlai or Wirtz, sits alongside the centre-forward, making it difficult for teams to play through the middle. When the goalkeeper has the ball, Liverpool won’t press the centre-backs, with the press being triggered as soon as they start to play out.

This is where they can catch United off guard, with Amorim’s side also liking to play from the back, but they did setup a little differently against Liverpool at Anfield last season. The 2-2 draw was one of United’s better performances under Amorim, and his side were regularly instructed to go long from goal-kicks, something which Slot pointed out after the game.

“Defending in a low block with a lot of bodies and if they had the ball, not to risk of build-up but to play it long. Every free-kick they got, somewhere, in and around their own half, or our half they brought it in.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see United going long from the goalkeeper again this weekend. With Frimpong often playing higher, if he starts at right-back, that could be an area to exploit, with Benjamin Sesko drifting into wider areas to try and win flick-ons to the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, who often like to play close to the striker.

In practice, Liverpool’s press could look a little something like this, which could make it difficult for United to play out from the back. They are able to cover off multiple passing lanes into the midfield and further forward, and bypassing the press by going long could be United’s route to getting into the final third. This relies on high energy from the midfield, centre-backs, and wing-backs to support the attacking trio, getting up the pitch as soon as possible to squeeze the pitch and limit the gaps between the lines.

United could get some joy by pressing Liverpool high. Chelsea looked to go man-to-man in the middle of the park, with the attacking players pressing the centre-backs and goalkeeper.

Liverpool will be able to break through lines fairly easily if United sit a little deeper with their press as they have the quality to do so, but they have shown vulnerability when they are pressed high up the pitch.

Where Liverpool can get joy in their build-up is if they break the press of United and get players between Casemiro and Fernandes and the opposition defence. Slot’s side have plenty of runners and ball-carriers, so having transitional moments could be their key to getting results.

The last thing Liverpool want is to try and break United down for 90 minutes with Amorim’s side in their 5-4 block.

Overloading the midfield

Against Liverpool, Chelsea tried to overload the middle of the pitch, creating 3v2 situations beyond Liverpool’s central press of the two central attacking players. This meant the likes of Malo Gusto, Enzo Fernandez, and Moises Caicedo could find space between the lines, and the movement of the midfield meant they could easily play through the 4-2-4 press.

Quick, short passes between the lines led to Caicedo being given the chance to break beyond the attacking six of the 4-2-4, and with Marc Cucurella playing high, after they bypassed the press, they were able to create a 6v4 situation.

This leaves Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in a difficult position, caught between whether to press the ball or stay in the defensive shape to track runners.

Can United replicate this considering they only play a midfield two? Possibly.

This is where the movement of Cunha and Mbeumo could come in handy. If United have their wing-backs pinning back Liverpool’s full-backs, this gives the opportunity for Cunha and Mbeumo to drift into central areas, creating a box midfield where they can find space between the lines.

Liverpool’s two central midfielders will likely go man-to-man with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, and Konate and Van Dijk won’t want to step out of the defensive line to press Cunha and Mbeumo. Their movement could also leave a direct channel from United’s defence into Sesko, meaning they could have multiple routes to break through the Liverpool lines when they are sat in a mid-block.

Man Utd out of possession and transitions

Against Liverpool last season, United made it incredibly difficult to be broken down, sitting in a 5-4 block with a lone striker ahead of them. The gaps between midfield and defence made it difficult for Liverpool to find players between the lines, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them replicate something like this once again.

In order to create chances, United looked to break quickly in transition. Although the wing-backs sat incredibly deep out of possession, they would look to break forward in order to provide width and create central gaps.

One wing-back would stay high and wide on the opposite of the ball side, while one of the two no.10s would drift into wide areas, creating width for the team, while also producing gaps. Liverpool’s left-back would be forced to press the ball out wide, leaving gaps between the centre-back and full-back for United to exploit.

United used the ‘up, back, and through’ method to try exploit this, playing forward to the winger (up), dropping it back to a more defensive player (back), and playing through to a third-man runner in behind.

Liverpool do leave space in behind their defence, which is where the attacking trio will be crucial for United.

This is where United have to take risks. As seen above, Gravenberch and Mac Allister are forced to drop into the defensive line due to Chelsea’s midfield runners either drifting wide or aiming to get in behind, which leaves space for either a no.10 to receive in acres of space between the lines or another player to attack the space in behind.

In summary, there’s a real chance for United to get a result against Liverpool this weekend if Amorim reverts to a similar setup that got them a result in their last trip to Anfield. On the other hand, if Liverpool can tempt United into playing out from the back before instigating their press, Amorim’s men could find it difficult to transition the ball from defence to attack.

It’s going to be an interesting battle, but I do believe United fans should have more optimism than they might have had in previous years.