3 Key Battles That Could Decide Liverpool’s Crunch Clash With Man Utd on Saturday

Manchester United have started this season on fire. Jose Mourinho has galvanised the troops and they’re playing excellent football with a cutting edge. United are top of the table along with Manchester City with 19 points after seven games with a goal difference of 19. Liverpool on the other hand are in somewhat of a rut. They only have one win in their last seven games and their defensive frailties have reared their ugly head again. Defensive mistakes have cost Liverpool points already this…
1. Romelu Lukaku vs Joel Matip
Romelu Lukaku survived his injury scare on international duty to come back and score a goal against Cyprus.

Lukaku has been sensational since his big summer move from Everton. Taking over the burden of scoring from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lukaku has taken on that responsibility and has flourished under it. His chemistry with Paul Pogba has been magnificent and he is leading the team like Jose Mourinho would have envisioned.

Joel Matip is a very good defender but the Liverpool defence this season has been a shambles. Strikers have been running right through the middle without being touched and scoring unforgiveable goals. Matip and the others will have to clean this up to get the victory against United.
2. Philippe Coutinho vs Antonio Valencia
The little Brazilian is the spark that makes that Liverpool team tick. He was the subject of much transfer speculation with Barcelona looking to acquire his services. However, that saga is behind him and with him being fully recovered from his back injury he should be back to his brilliant best.

However, in his way will be the Ecuadorian, Tony Valencia. This matchup is due to be spectacular. Valencia has the physical presence that Coutinho has struggled with in the past. He also has the pace and trickery to keep up with Coutinho’s flair.




Additionally, Valencia constantly bombs forward and questions will be asked of Coutinho whether he has the capability to track Valencia for the whole game and still be a threat on the offensive side of the ball.
3. Nemanja Matic vs Jordan Henderson
This might be the most important matchup in this match and where the game will be won or lost.

To succeed at Anfield, you have to keep it tight in midfield and keep Liverpool quiet for the first 20 minutes. Matic has been a wonderful signing for United so far this season. Freeing up Pogba to be more creative and leaving Matic to burden the defensive responsibility, and the days of United struggling to score seem to be over.

Henderson is the energiser for the Liverpool midfield. Liverpool seem to thieve in big games and none come bigger than this. The high press demanded by Klopp is encapsulated by Henderson and he, along with Can and Wijnaldum will be looking to overrun the United midfield and establish themselves as the dominant force in the game and feed the attackers the ball to score.

Source:Sports.yahoo