Liverpool boss Arne Slot has backed Ruben Amorim to ‘bring the best’ out of the current crop of Manchester United players despite a largely underwhelming start to life at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim and his out of form Manchester United side head to Merseyside on Sunday, as they prepare to take on Premier League leaders Liverpool in Gameweek 20’s standout fixture.
The Red Devils have suffered four successive defeats across all competitions, losing to Tottenham, Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle, whilst failing to score a single goal in each of their last three.
It leaves the 20-time English champions occupying 14th place in the top-flight table, just seven points clear of the relegation zone. Liverpool, meanwhile, are thriving at the summit, six points clear with a game in hand, unbeaten in 23 straight matches since their defeat to Nottingham Forest in mid-September.
The Reds head into the weekend’s Northwest derby off the back of four consecutive victories across all competitions, beating the likes of Southampton, Tottenham, Leicester and, most recently, West Ham.
Their most recent outing against the Hammers, away at the London Stadium, was particularly impressive, as they ran out as 5-0 victors courtesy of goals from Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota.
Arne Slot: Ruben Amorim Will ‘Bring The Best’ Out Of Manchester United
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash at Anfield, Liverpool boss Slot praised United’s squad and claimed that the Red Devils are a much better side than what the current league table suggests.
“For me, they (Manchester United) have much better players than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It might take a while for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players, but they are much better than the league table shows.”
He continued: “Every manager sympathises with every other manager. We all know how much pressure this job brings. It is something we like. Like I said, he’s done so well at Sporting, and I think he has a good squad of players, so he will eventually bring the best out of them.”
“They [Man Utd] are much better than the league table shows” 📈
Arne Slot on Manchester United’s threat ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool 🔴 pic.twitter.com/3KNBenz7Nb
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 3, 2025
Unsurprisingly, the UK’s best football betting sites heavily favour Liverpool to come out on top against Manchester United, with a home victory priced at around 2/7, a draw at around 21/4, and a shock win for the visitors at around 15/2.
You can also back the in-form Mohamed Salah to score at any time during the match at around 4/5, while the Egyptian can also be backed to score a hat-trick at around 14/1.
