Ben Thornley believes it may favour Manchester United to play Liverpool so early in the season.
United discovered their fixture list for the forthcoming Premier League campaign last week and there was a bit of a shock when it was revealed that great rivals Liverpool would be visiting Old Trafford in just the third game. Jurgen Klopp's side finished a massive 34 points ahead of United last season and easily defeated them 5-0 and then 4-0 in their two meetings.
It's the earliest the sides have met in a season since 1972 and facing Liverpool so soon into Erik ten Hag's reign could be a bit of a daunting prospect. But Thornley reckons it may be a benefit to play them at a time when no team will have found their rhythm yet.
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"[To play Liverpool on the] third game in, it’s really unusual," he told United's in-house media. "I don’t think any team is going to be in their full stride within the first six games of the season.
“I think the third game in is not a bad time to play them at all, especially here [at Old Trafford].”
“It’s a good fixture,” he said. “We are playing at home, [we have] a new manager. [It is a] fresh start and exciting times, so I’m expecting us to win.”
Another former player, Quinton Fortune, also thinks United must go into the fixture with a positive mindset.
“When you play for Manchester United these are the fixtures you look forward to," he said. "It should be the same every season.
“Whatever Liverpool have done in the last season is in the past. It’s a fresh start [with a] new manager.
“They [our players] have got to change that mindset about what’s happened in the past [and rediscover] the positivity of playing with each other, together; that family feeling of Manchester United.”
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