Liverpool return from another tedious international break with Man United visiting Anfield, as the Reds look to bounce back from three consecutive defeats.
Liverpool vs. Man United
Premier League (8) | Anfield
October 19, 2025 | 4.30pm (BST)
English football’s biggest clubs, Liverpool and Man United, meet for the 217th time with a chasm in quality.
However, as we saw in last year’s 2-2 draw at Anfield, the respective teams’ talents don’t always reflect the final result.
Here are 10 things to know ahead of Liverpool vs. Man United:
1. Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate are fit
Having been withdrawn at half time as a precaution in the Netherlands’ latest match, Ryan Gravenberch‘s hamstring is good to go and Slot has declared him “completely fit.”
There is also good news on Ibrahima Konate who was forced to withdraw from the France squad: the defender is in training as usual.
Unfortunately, Alisson remains out for some time.
He won’t be involved against Man United and isn’t in training, with Slot saying: “It’s so difficult to say [about a timeframe for a return] because the end phase of rehab can always give you positives or negatives, but he will not play on the weekend and also not next week.”
2. Starting XI prediction
Slot’s toughest choices come at centre-back, left-back and up front, with Joe Gomez vying for a starting spot in defence due to the poor form of Konate.
At left-back, Milos Kerkez should start, though some may prefer to see Andy Robertson. Meanwhile, we expect just one of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike to start.
Having all of Sweden’s two games, Slot may turn to the slightly fresher and in-form Ekitike.
Predicted XI: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
3. Man Utd’s shocking away form
It may still be early, but Man United are showing little sign of improvement on last season’s 42-point campaign.
Away from Old Trafford this season, Man United have drawn at Fulham and lost at Man City and Brentford, as well as losing on penalties to Grimsby.
Under Ruben Amorim, they are yet to win back-to-back league games – yes, you read that correctly. In the last 34 league games, they have collected 37 points from 34 league games.
4. Man Utd team news
Man United will likely be missing two senior players for Sunday’s match, with Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui seemingly ruled out.
On Friday, Amorim said that Martinez, who suffered a knee injury in February, “is near, but almost returning to the trainings with the team.”
In addition, the coach added that he ‘doesn’t know’ on right-back Mazraoui’s fitness, so we can assume he will miss out.
Predicted XI: Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Dorgu; Ugarte, Fernandes; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko
5. Liverpool’s domination in this fixture
Liverpool have conceded just three goals in the last nine Anfield clashes with Man United, two coming in January’s 2-2 draw.
In the last seven on home soil, Liverpool have scored 18 goals to United’s three, while the last nine home and away meetings have seen Liverpool net 28 times but concede eight.
Should Liverpool avoid defeat, they will set a new club record of 10 league games unbeaten against Man United at Anfield, improving on the run set in the 1970s.
6. Alexander Isak’s pre-season is over
Due to his late arrival and absence of pre-season minutes, Isak has been undergoing somewhat of a de facto pre-season in his opening weeks at Liverpool.
The No. 9 was managed carefully in his first weeks, having not been involved in team training throughout July and August.
Slot has said that period of bedding in is over, though, commenting: “Now he’s had his five, six weeks of pre-season, which is normal for every player – especially if you’ve been out for three or four months.
“Fitness-wise, I think he’s now close to the level he should be and now I think we can judge him in a fair way from now on.”
7. Avoiding 4 consecutive defeats
Having lost to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea before the international break, Liverpool are looking to avoid their fourth consecutive defeat.
They haven’t lost four in a row since Brendan Rodgers was in charge, losing four on the bounce in November 2024 against Newcastle, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, coincidentally.
God forbid, the Reds haven’t lost five in a row since they were relegated in 1953. Thankfully, Man United and Frankfurt provide a good opportunity to ensure that doesn’t happen!
8. Three in a row for the referee
For a third consecutive season, Michael Oliver will referee Liverpool vs. Man United at Anfield.
This is the sixth time in total he has taken charge of the teams’ meeting, Liverpool having drawn four and lost the other two.
Assisting Oliver at Anfield will be Stuart Burt and Tim Wood, with Craig Pawson acting as fourth official. In Stockley Park, Darren England is down as the VAR and James Bell will assist.
9. Ruben Amorim has done his rivalry homework
While he hasn’t been in the job long, Amorim knows what the rivalry means to Liverpool and Man United.
“I know it’s special for our club. I know they are fighting all the time for the number of titles. I know what it means to the fans,” he said.
At the moment, there is a chasm between the clubs – Liverpool finished 42 points above Man United last season.
When asked how they will close the gap, the coach said: “Sometimes things change really fast but if you see the history of both clubs, you can feel that sometimes you have one club that is winning, winning, winning [while] the other club is having a bad moment.
“That happened with Liverpool when Manchester United is winning everything, and that happened with Manchester United when Liverpool was winning everything.”
10. Follow the match with TIA
Liverpool vs. Man United is live on Sky Sports Premier League with kickoff at 4.30pm (BST).
TIA’s matchday live blog will be up and running from 3.45pm, with Harry McMullen tasked with keeping you entertained and up-to-date.
Come on you Reds!
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