LIVERPOOL may be wounded but Manchester United will have to be at their very best to get a result at Anfield on Sunday.
The Premier League champions are on a three-game losing run in all competitions.
Last time out, Arne Slot‘s side suffered a late loss to Chelsea in West London after Estevao’s late brilliance.
United, however, won their final game before the international break as they bested Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford.
The win relieved some much-needed pressure off the shoulders of manager Ruben Amorim.
If the coach can follow up that with success on Merseyside, then United could jump up the Prem table.
And now our tactics man explains United can get one over their fierce rivals…
How United should target Van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk had been one of the best centre-backs in the history of the Premier League.
But in recent games, the Dutchman has appeared vulnerable in the Liverpool backline.
He is still a Rolls-Royce of a player and his positional sense is sensational, which is being reflected in his ability to win aerial duels.
Van Dijk has had more success than this time last season in that respect.
This impressive statistic is likely down to teams being more direct against Liverpool and the defensive duo of Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
However, the pair will not go man to man against the attackers as they prefer to stay close together.
This decision means that United’s offensive players, such as Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko could take advantage.
Against Chelsea, this was seen in the moment Moises Caicedo scored from distance as neither of them closed him down.
United can also target the space that can be created by using Sesko to manipulate Konate’s positioning.
This would allow one of Bruno Fernandes or Mason Mount to exploit the space left open.
How United win the midfield battle
United are up against one of the best groups of midfielders in European football at Liverpool.
But they could come out on top by getting the best out of Kobbie Mainoo.
If picked in the starting XI, he could be vital with his ability to break lines with his passing.
This would be vital in starting attacks for United after winning back possession.
Mainoo would also be able to lift some of the burden off Fernandes, who is often caught trying to do too much at times.
The club captain covers a lot of ground for United but his running can often lead him out of position.
He can drift out of position in order to get on the ball but at the cost of leaving the team exposed.
One benefit is that Fernandes could help overload Liverpool in the wide areas when United are attacking.
To help with this, Amorim could instruct them to man-mark which would keep all the players closer to their starting positions.
Should Amorim copy Crystal Palace?
Oliver Glasner has been an incredible success at Crystal Palace as he led the club to the FA Cup last term and the Community Shield trophy.
He plays a 3-4-3 system like Amorim, but he uses a much more pragmatic approach with “Glasnerball”.
It worked against Liverpool in late September as the Eagles earned a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.
Glasner’s side are able to press high up the pitch at times without becoming vulnerable the other way.
United are the opposite of this, as they can become easy to pick off on the counter-attack after losing the ball high up the pitch.
Palace mostly use the mid-block, which adds more balance to the team in defence and attack.
United could take note of this, in order to improve their own performances.
If they start using a mid-block, then it could help them become more comfortable out of possession as they may not be chasing back as much.
Without pressing as high up the pitch, United could start to bait their opponents and stop their lines being penetrated.
Another way to further protect the goal is for the defenders to drop into a back-five, along with the midfielders filling the space to shrink the space around the box.
Amorim must also get his players to be aggressive when they have the chance to press the ball in the wide areas or when there is cover for them.
This would help United pounce and break quickly should they win the ball and then take advantage of Liverpool being out of position.
What’s happened to Mo Salah?
Mohamed Salah has not been in his usual sensational form thus far this season.
The Egyptian forward has only netted twice in his seven appearances in the Prem.
The biggest factor behind Salah’s downturn in form is the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The right-back left Anfield in the summer for pastures new at Real Madrid.
Salah would regularly benefit from Alexander-Arnold’s passing range as he could often be found running onto the ball.
He is yet to receive a similar level of service from new signing Jeremie Frimpong.
He is also operating from a very wide position and is hugging the touchline for much of the game.
However, this does leave him further from box and able to threaten the goal directly.
Other teams are also not taking as many chances with Salah and are doubling up on him with defenders.
Another reason behind him not seeing the goal as much is due to the arrivals of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekiktie.
The two strikers are being more selfish in order to score rather than dragging defenders to create space for Salah.
Instead, they can be found in the space that he would like to be in, unlike the likes of Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino.
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