Will the Red Devils Prevail, or Will Liverpool Find a New Weapon of Manc Destruction?

Will Sir be at the shadow of the King

King Kenny and Sir Alex will be managing, Gerard and Nemanja Vidic (if fit) will lead their respective 10men, Le Bron James will be watching, you’ll be watching, heck! I’ll be watching and so will be the millions… and millions... of supporters of the most competitive, most riveting, most tackling and speedy and feisty and thrilling derby in the world; the North West Derby. Pitting England’s most successful clubs; Liverpool and Manchester United.

Call it Sir versus King, Scouse versus Manc, Suarez versus Rooney, or better yet, Reds versus Red Devils, the buzz is on, the players are fit, and the stage is set for one of the finest derbies in world football as Liverpool welcome sworn adversaries Manchester United to the fabled Anfield stadium.

The last time these two teams locked horns at Anfield, the Scousers rose head and shoulders above the Mancunians, destroying them 3-1 with one Dutch workhorse, Dirk Kuyt, scoring a hat trick. Exactly six-and-a-half months later, they renew the battle where the winner takes the three points, and most importantly (since the season is still young), the bragging rights. 

United will arrive at Anfield with an unbeaten run that has seen them rake in six victories and only one draw, scoring 24goals in the process and conceding only five. Liverpool on the other hand have lost twice, 1-0 away to Stoke and a crushing 4-0 at White Hart Lane. A 2-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby a fortnight ago must have upped the confidence in the team though.

Of course these statistics won’t matter when match referee Andre Marriner blows the whistle for kickoff at 14:45. A draw doesn’t look likely given that the no stalemates have been recorded in the past 13-meetings between the teams in all competitions.

Should Liverpool win (I bet they will) they’ll become the first team to inflict a defeat to Man United this season and also earn three vital points that will move them only three points behind their nemesis. Liverpool welcome promoted side Norwich the weekend after, while Man United welcome city rivals Manchester City.

Top Six Things to Expect

Crunching Tackles – true definition of a derby in English football

Diving – Err… Did Nani read this?

Red Card/s – there have been five red cards shown in the last seven meetings between the two sides at Anfield. Reason? Refer to one above – Vidic, Lucas, Rooney, Suarez. In that order

A new Weapon of Manc Destruction (if they get destroyed) – Dirk Kuyt last season. But once there was one Danny Murphy, and the ‘god’, Robbie Fowler

Post-match banter – The referee might get some of this thrown at him

Penalty – Four penalties have been awarded in the past five Premier League games between these rivals. Enough said.

Prediction - Liverpool 2-1 Man United (Suarez, Kuyt, Nani)

Players to Watch

Luis Suarez, Steven Gerard, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney

And That's thesteifmastertake!!