🔴 🏆 Red hot Man Utd v shaky Liverpool? A title blockbuster awaits | OneFootball

This season’s title race was always going to be between Manchester and Liverpool but few would’ve had United joining City in that battle.

Yet here we are, the third Sunday in January, and Manchester United are top of the Premier League with a three point gap over their fiercest rivals.

It’s the first time the club have been top in the new year of a season since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson and it all comes a mere month after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job was appeared to be on the line.

Manchester United’s disastrous exit in the Champions League — despite needing just two wins over İstanbul Başakşehir to progress — suggested the club were going backwards under the stewardship of one of their prodigal sons.

But a seven game unbeaten run has sprung them to the top of the domestic pile and the untouchable aura Liverpool had built around themselves at the start of the season suddenly has a few cracks.

Jürgen Klopp’s side find themselves in must-win territory after going three league games without a victory for the first time since early 2017.

The long injury list has finally caught up with them and their players look fatigued physically and mentally.

Long term injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have not just had an impact on their defence but the entire side. Last time out the team’s two best midfielders — Fabinho and Jordan Henderson — both played at the back, a move that threw the whole team out of sync.

Klopp has been fortunate that he hasn’t been without any of his attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané for long spells but even they are struggling at the moment: Liverpool have only mustered up seven shots on target in their last three games.

In a way, this game could be exactly what the champions need to get purring again.

This is a chance to regain focus, a chance to put their most hated rivals back in their place. There’s also the small matter of a four year unbeaten home record being on the line.

One of the most intriguing questions ahead of the Anfield clash is what type of approach Solskjaer will head into the game with.

In his two meetings with Liverpool last season, the Norwegian set United up with five at the back in an attempt to frustrate their opponents and steal a goal on the counter-attack.

Jürgen Klopp’s men were the better team in both games, and the 2-0 win at Anfield in January moved them 19 points clear of Manchester City, making the title win a procession.

United’s approach was far removed from their gung-ho, attacking days under Ferguson but it was a means to an end with the huge gap between the two sides plain for all to see.

Simply, Solskjaer’s side were aiming to seal Champions League qualification, which they achieved. But they also finished 33 points as Liverpool went on to win the title.

Will he adopt a similar approach on Sunday, when there’s the chance to go six points clear at the top and send an enormous message to the rest of the league?

Would supporters be happy if an in-form United side adopt a cautious approach with a depleted and out of sorts Liverpool are there for the taking?

Bruno Fernandes is yet to play in this fixture and the Portuguese midfielder will be licking his lips at the space he may be accustomed to with Fabinho no longer occupying the spaces in front of the Liverpool defence.

Joël Matip may be available for the game which means it’s likely Henderson will once again deputise in defence and you can bet your house that Edinson Cavani will target the Liverpool captain if he starts up-front.

There’s no doubt about it – Anfield presents a real opportunity for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United.

Football has, for the majority, been quite sterile in the pandemic era. But we have a real, potential blockbuster game on our hands between the two biggest teams in English football.

Are Manchester United the real deal? Are Liverpool in a full-blown crisis?

We may not get the answers to these questions on Sunday but we will certainly begin to have some idea about what the 2020/21 title race will look like.