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Attendance: 73,737
Manchester United logo
Premier League | Gameweek 9
Oct 20, 2019 at 4.30pm UK
 
Liverpool logo

1-1

Rashford (36')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Lallana (85')

Combined XI: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

Ahead of Sunday's Premier League showdown between Manchester United and Liverpool, Sports Mole selects its strongest combined XI from the two squads.

English football's biggest match enters a particularly intriguing latest chapter on Sunday when Manchester United welcome bitter rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford.

Jurgen Klopp is yet to win a league game away at United, but rarely in the long history of this rivalry will Liverpool have made the trip to Old Trafford as such overwhelming favourites.

The Reds have won 17 successive top-flight matches including eight from eight so far this season and know that another triumph at the home of their greatest enemies would see them enter the record books on both counts.

Liverpool are already eight points clear of their nearest challengers and a whopping 15 points above Sunday's hosts, who have won just two of their last 13 league games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Here, Sports Mole selects a predictably one-sided combined XI from the two squads, using only players available this weekend.



Combined XI: MNU vs. LIV

The enormous gulf in class between these two sides this season means that, for the first time, one club provides all 11 players to this 'combined' squad, and in truth many of the first reserves would be Liverpool men too.

In fairness to Manchester United, two of their chief contenders for a place in the XI are unlikely to feature this weekend, with Paul Pogba ruled out and David de Gea a major injury doubt, although Alisson Becker's expected return for Liverpool means that the United keeper would have fallen short even if he had been fully fit.

Of the players available from an injury-plagued United squad it is Harry Maguire who is closest to getting into this team, which would have made a centre-back partnership of the two most expensive defenders in the world. However, Joel Matip's form this season has been outstanding, and his return from injury sees him beat Maguire to the place alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are easy choices for the full-back roles, particularly with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka among United's injury doubts, although the latter is expected to be fit for Sunday's match.

Pogba probably would have been United's sole representative had both squads been fully fit, but as it is the midfield trio is a choice between Liverpool players. James Milner may well get the nod for his experience this weekend and would certainly not look out of place in this team, but Klopp's first-choice midfield tends to be Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson either side of Fabinho, the latter of whom is one of the first names on the team sheet now.

It is more of the same up front, where Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are some way clear of Marcus Rashford in selection. Most of United's other contenders, such as Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, are doubts for the game but would not have threatened to dislodge Liverpool's trident regardless.

> Click here to read our full match preview for this match, including predictions, team news and head-to-head records.

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David de Gea in action for Spain on October 15, 2019
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


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