When: Sunday, January 13, 2013 – 8:30 am ET (
Where: Old Trafford – Manchester
Live TV Channel: FOX Soccer Channel
Streaming TV: FOXSoccer2Go
This weekend Liverpool travels to Manchester United to take on the Red Devils in what will be the 160th derby between the two clubs. Manchester United is leading the standings in this rivalry with 62 wins to Liverpool’s 53 along with 44 draws. Their last meeting back in September saw Manchester United win 2-1 at Anfield. Since then United has lost only twice and drawn once in the league. They currently are 21 points clear of Liverpool and are top of the table.
In my Week 22 Predictions I picked Manchester United to come out as winners and I’m sticking by this. It will have plenty of goals and could be higher scoring than what I’ve predicted. I’m expecting both teams to have chances. It will be an interesting match in terms of possession and dominance. Liverpool has been playing a more passing and possession game with Brendan Rodgers in charge this season, but this has not led to great results so far. In recent weeks they have shown some better results, but in their FA Cup match against the Conference side Mansfield Town, they didn’t look all that great.
Manchester United has also been playing a similar pass and move possession game this season, but their defense has been frail. Liverpool’s best opportunities have been when they can get Luis Suarez the ball with him facing goal. When he is able to run at defenses he has been deadly and I can definitely see him scoring. For Manchester United I expect both Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie to get goals. A goal for van Persie would cement his name in the book of legends for United folklore.
This season Manchester United leads the EPL in goals scored with 54 total on the season compared to the 34 by Liverpool (ranked 7th). The interesting stats come with conversion rates. United has 2.57 goals per game compared to Liverpool’s 1.62 while Liverpool leads the EPL in shots taken at 292 while United is fifth with 256. As far as shots on target United is second with 49% on target while Liverpool is sunk all the way down in 20th with only 40%. The last goal scoring stat of interest is that United is first with 21% of their shots being converted into goals compared to the 12% for Liverpool ranking them 16th.
Here are some other interesting stats of note:
|
Manchester United |
Rank |
Liverpool |
Rank | |
|
Passing |
||||
| Short Passes |
10,434 |
3 |
10,037 |
4 |
| Long Passes |
1,109 |
5 |
1,073 |
12 |
| Overall Pass Completion % |
87% |
1 |
85% |
5 |
|
Defending |
||||
| Goals Conceded |
28 |
11 |
26 |
6 |
| Avg Goals Conceded per game |
1.33 |
11 |
1.24 |
6 |
| Tackles |
409 |
9 |
432 |
4 |
| Tackles Won % |
79% |
3 |
79% |
2 |
| Block, Clearances, Interceptions |
1047 |
12 |
821 |
20 |
|
Discipline |
||||
| Fouls |
208 |
3 |
236 |
8 |
| Yellow Cards |
35 |
14 |
27 |
6 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
Both teams have had defensive frailties throughout the season. I expect this match to be full of excitement throughout. It will be interesting to see how the referee manages the game, especially considering the hot-blooded feud between these two teams over the years. This is a derby match that has seen 14 red cards over the past 20 Premier League years.
I’m going to stick with prediction of a Manchester United win, but this is one that could go either way in the end. It will be interesting to see if there will be any controversial plays, calls or incidents, considering that this is a rivalry that has not gone without something for several years. Both teams will need to be strong in defense if they want to get anything out of the match.
Let me know what your thoughts are on this rivalry. Who are you rooting for? Who do you predict will win, or score?