[스포츠한국 김성수 기자] Liverpool and Manchester United (hereinafter referred to as Man United) have unveiled their starting line-ups ahead of the traditional rivalry, the Northwest Derby.
Liverpool and Manchester United will face off in the 26th round of the 2022-2023 English Premier League (EPL) at Anfield in Liverpool, England at 1:30 am on the 6th (hereinafter Korean time).
The biggest point to watch in this head-to-head match is the firepower fight between Mohamed Salah and Marcus Rashford, the solvers of both teams. Salah, who has scored 20 goals this season and is responsible for about 30% of the team’s goals, is a particularly strong figure for United. Against Manchester United a total of 11 times, including the league and FA Cup, Salah posted a staggering record of 10 points and 2 assists. He made his EPL debut in the 2013-2014 season and scored against Manchester United every season except for the 2015-2016 season. Will Salah be able to show off his ‘Man United nemesis’ instinct again this time?
Manchester United must catch Liverpool to revive their hopes of winning the league. They are nine points behind second-placed Manchester City with two fewer games played, so the gap could widen in an instant if they fail to take three points from this game. Tottenham’s pursuit of 4th place is also fierce, so a victory at Anfield is a must. Manchester United’s ‘reliable man’ is Rashford. With 25 goals in 39 games this season and 14 goals in 24 games in the league, he is tied for third place in scoring. Fans’ attention is focused on whether Manchester United, which will launch a counter-fire operation with Rashford to catch the ‘nemesis’ Salah, will be able to break the chain of 7 consecutive draws at Anfield.
Liverpool will build a back four of Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander-Arnold with Alisson wearing goalkeeper gloves. Harvey Elliot, Fabinho, and Jordan Henderson line up in the midfield, while Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah go up front.
Against this, Manchester United will have David de Gea in goal and Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Rafael Varane and Diogo Dalot form the defensive line. Fred, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes form the midfield and Marcus Rashford, Boot Verhost and Anthony form the attack.
The match will be held shortly after, at 1:30 am.