FA Cup: Manchester United and Liverpool do battle for second successive weekend

With Manchester United facing Liverpool on successive Sundays we take a look at some the recent swift rematches involving each team.

Familiar foes Liverpool and Manchester United lock horns for the second time in a matter of days at Old Trafford on Sunday with a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup up for grabs.

A round of midweek Premier League fixtures has denied us back-to-back clashes between two of English football's traditional powerhouses - not necessarily a bad thing following last weekend's dismal goalless draw at Anfield.

However, Liverpool will make the short trip to Manchester with a point to prove following Thursday's loss against Burnley which has left the Reds six points adrift of table-topping United.

Jurgen Klopp tends to rotate his squad in the FA Cup but the Liverpool boss, who watched his team fail to break down Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's unenterprising Red Devils a week ago, may well opt to start some of his stars in this significant fixture.

Quick rematches are rare, but not unheard of among top teams who have to juggle league commitments alongside European and domestic cup commitments with Liverpool in particular enjoying their fair share in recent seasons.

Over the last ten seasons, the Reds have had four rematches against teams from the Premier League's big six - they saw double against Chelsea in both 2012 and 2018, Manchester City in 2016 and Arsenal as recently as October 2020.

Any Liverpool supporters fearing the worst can take heart from the fact that their team have won two of their four rematches, picking themselves up off the floor after an FA Cup final loss to the Blues in 2012 and an EFL Cup final loss against the Citizens four years later in the early stages of the Klopp era.

A second-string Reds team were beaten on penalties in match two by the Gunners a few months ago but on the whole the Merseyside club has coped well with repeat contests.

United, meanwhile, suffered an extra-time cup reverse against Chelsea when still managed by Alex Ferguson, but they have already recorded back-to-back wins over the same team this season – doing so against Brighton in the Premier League and EFL Cup.

Mercifully for neutrals, the result of the first meeting was never replicated in the first and, on this occasion, even if that trend comes to an end, we can at least welcome the prospect of a penalty shootout.

Five recent high-profile domestic double takes

The first fixture
FA Cup final - May 5, 2012
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1

The rematch
Premier League - May 8, 2012
Liverpool 4 Chelsea 1

The first fixture

Premier League - October 28, 2012
Chelsea 2 Man Utd 3

The rematch
EFL Cup - October 31, 2012
Chelsea 5 Man Utd 4 AET

The first fixture
EFL Cup final - February 28, 2016
Liverpool 1 Man City 1 (City won 3-1 on pens)

The rematch
Premier League - March 3, 2016
Liverpool 3 Man City 0

The first fixture
EFL Cup - September 26, 2018
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2

The rematch
Premier League - September 29, 2018
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1

The first fixture
Premier League - September 28, 2020
Liverpool 3 Arsenal 1

The rematch
EFL Cup - October 1, 2020
Liverpool 0 Arsenal 0 (Arsenal won 5-4 on pens)

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport