Paul Merson has given his reasons why he expects Liverpool to suffer a defeat to Manchester United this weekend.
The Reds take on their bitter rivals at Anfield in the Premier League this Sunday. It sees Jurgen Klopp’s side looking for back-to-back victories in the top flight following their win over Wolves on Wednesday night.
Liverpool currently lie in sixth place in the Premier League table going into this weekend. The Reds are six points adrift of the top four places and have a game in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
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Merson believes that Liverpool will lose to Man United on Sunday, and has explained his reasons why. The former Arsenal star thinks that the Reds could “play into United’s hands” with their tactics, and has tipped a 2-1 defeat for Klopp’s side.
The pundit went on to make a claim about Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool, as well stating what he thinks the Reds need to do in the transfer market in the summer.
“This is how quickly football changes,” Merson told Sportskeeda. “You'd be surprised if Manchester United got beaten here. How many times have we been able to say that about this game in the last few years?
“The way Manchester United are playing, they will take the game to Liverpool. They are excellent on the counter and their players seem to make the right decisions whenever they break.
“United will want Liverpool to have a go at them so that they can hit them on the counter. Jurgen Klopp's side could play right into United's hands on Sunday.
“Marcus Rashford will be looking to put Trent Alexander-Arnold under pressure much like Vinicius Junior did in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago. If United beat Liverpool, their confidence will be high and they will keep themselves in the title race for now.
“A win would be massive for Liverpool as they will get closer to the top four with that. A couple of successive wins could be huge for them.
“Erik ten Hag seems to know exactly how to handle his players. Tactically, he is very good. In the Carabao Cup final, his substitutions were spot on and he made the right decisions. He killed the game at the right time by making some really good defensive substitutions.
“It just shows you that a club just needs a good manager to maximise their potential.
“As for Liverpool, Salah hasn't been good this season after signing a new contract. Both the Golden Boot winners from last season have been poor this term. Teams are always looking to silence Salah and that puts him at a disadvantage.
“Having said that, I wouldn't sell him at the end of the season though because unless Liverpool are sure they can get an upgrade, there is no point to it. But I do believe that there are plenty of players in Liverpool's midfield who need to go.
“All their Premier League rivals will strengthen in the summer and Liverpool will need to keep up. They'll need to rejig their setup because the current one is not working like it used to.”
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