Man Utd v Liverpool predictions: Red Devils can dent rivals' top-four hopes

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester United v Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 8.15pm Thursday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 11-4 bet365

Team news

Manchester United
Dan James, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial remain on the injured list.

Liverpool
James Milner and Ozan Kabak have joined Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita on the sidelines.

Match preview

Manchester United's title challenge came to an end with a 2-1 loss at home to Leicester on Tuesday but the Red Devils have not suffered back-to-back league defeats all season and can hold Liverpool to a draw at Old Trafford, dealing a massive blow to the Merseysiders' top four hopes.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he would have to protect his players during a hectic spell of three games in five days and gave several a breather against the Foxes.

The Norwegian made ten changes, retaining only Mason Greenwood from the side who triumphed 3-1 at Aston Villa on Sunday, but although they lost the result is likely to have little impact on United's finishing position.

Leicester's victory at the Theatre of Dreams was a more painful result for Liverpool, who are running out of games to get back into the top four.

Jurgen Klopp's side will try to give themselves the best opportunity by winning their last four games but they will be up against a much stronger United line-up as Solskjaer is expected to revert to his first-choice line-up.

United are guaranteed a top-four finish and want to reach the Europa League final against Villarreal on May 26 in the best possible shape, but they have second place to secure and would prefer do that sooner rather than later.

Liverpool must be prepared to face a strong and focused United side and they have a poor recent record at Old Trafford, taking three points from their last six league visits.

Klopp refuses to rule out a late-season surge into the top four but his team have lacked consistency and their longest Premier League winning sequence of the season stands at just three games.

Even Saturday's 2-0 success at home to Southampton was far from convincing and was achieved with the help of some wasteful finishing from a Saints side missing injured striker Danny Ings.

Liverpool's away performances since the turn of the year have included impressive victories at Tottenham, West Ham and Arsenal, and they retain the counter-attacking capabilities to expose almost any defence.

However, United have been more successful than most at coping with the Liverpool threat and will be quite happy to play a patient game and wait for their moment to strike.

The clash of styles made for a cagey game in the January goalless draw at Anfield, which was the sixth stalemate in the last nine league meetings between the teams.

Another draw would suit United far more than Liverpool and it looks a likely scenario.

Key stat

Liverpool have failed to win on their last six league visits to Old Trafford

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