MNF: Liverpool v Manchester United Live Preview & Betting – Who Should You Back To Win?

Monday 17th October. 8PM. Sky Sports 1

This week’s Monday Night Football comes live from Anfield and Sky Sports have certainly delivered. It’s Jurgen Klopp V Jose Mourinho. It’s the two most successful clubs in English football coming head-to-head. It’s Liverpool V Manchester United.

Aside from the north west bragging rights, a win would be massive for either side’s title ambitions. Quite simply, it has all the makings of a classic.

Bring it on!

King Klopp To Inspire Victory In Front Of Kop?

After seeing both Manchester City and Spurs drop points on Saturday, Liverpool have the opportunity to go joint top on Monday night. If they can do it by beating their fiercest rivals, it would send a huge warning shot to their title rivals.

The Reds have been unplayable at times and, while they have shown weaknesses at times, their performances against the big teams is another huge source of optimism. If summer signing Sadio Mane continues to thrive alongside Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, the hosts have every reason to fancy their chances against the Red Devils.

Liverpool have looked far stronger defensively since dropping Alberto Moreno while the goalkeeper situation is better than this time last year too. Klopp has made wholesale improvements, and the increased Anfield crowd should ensure an incredible atmosphere under the lights.

Klopp’s men have already shown their credentials for a return to Champions League football. Will they underline their title ambitions here?

What Next For Rooney?

The big question for Mourinho is whether to start skipper Wayne Rooney. The boyhood Everton fan would love nothing more than inflicting misery on Liverpool but, unfortunately for the Red Devils captain, it’s hard to see where he’ll fit in.

Rooney’s inclusion from a deeper role has stifled record signing Paul Pogba, and it’s no surprise that United’s best performance came against Leicester, when Rooney was on the bench. The England captain certainly has a role to play at Old Trafford, but finding it is becoming increasingly difficult.

Aside from one disastrous week, Mourinho’s men have looked solid, even if they do lack a spark at time. This could be a huge game for the likes of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovich, and Pogba to truly prove their worth while Marcus Rashford and co. will provide an energy that could cause problems too.

United know that this is one of the strongest Liverpool teams of the Premier League era, but they do boast a good record at Anfield while Mourinho has claimed a number of important wins over the Reds also It should be a classic encounter.

Liverpool v Manchester United Betting

With home advantage on their side, Liverpool are considered the pre-game favourites with Bet365 pricing Klopp’s men at 6/5 for the win. Manchester United shouldn’t be ruled out at 13/5. Alternatively, the draw can be backed at 12/5.

The one thing we can expect from this clash is intense drama from the first second to the last. With so much energy on the pitch, we’d expect to see plenty of action. From a neutral’s perspective, as well as a betting one, we hope that leads to a game of goals.

We expect both teams to find the target but, unlike last season’s Europa League clash, we’re backing at least one of them to grab a second.

For our second bet, we’re looking to the SkyBet request-a-bet specials, and think a 7/2 shout stands out.

As already mentioned, we fancy goals. Moreover, there should be plenty of action down the wings, which could lead to a lot of corners. We’re combining the two on this request-a-bet. Let’s just hope the contest lives up to the billing.