Liverpool vs Man United Odds, Prediction & Pick | Premier League Match Preview

Liverpool vs Man United Odds, Prediction & Pick | Premier League Match Preview article feature image
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Pictured: Ruben Bentancourt celebrates with Thiago Vecino. (Photo by Ernesto Ryan/Getty Images)

Liverpool vs Manchester United Odds

Sunday, Dec. 17
11:30 a.m. ET
NBC
Liverpool Odds-334
Manchester United Odds+700
Draw+500
Over / Under
2.5
 -334/+250
Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here.

The dysfunctional Manchester United will be visiting Anfield in a match with top of the table Liverpool. These sides have been trending in opposite directions, with Liverpool on top of the Premier League table and Manchester United going from bad to worse over the past few weeks.

Yes, Liverpool is atop the Premier League table with 37 points, but they haven't even played their best football yet. That shows how good of a side they are and how much of a true threat they are in the title race.

Manchester United sits sixth in the Premier League with 27 points, despite having a -3 goal difference. They are coming off an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford and will be looking to bounce back, but have no easy task at hand.

Let’s see how this bitter rivalry will continue and come up with a Liverpool vs. Manchester United best bet.


Liverpool

Liverpool have been playing at an elite level. They have scored 36 goals, second most in the league and are only slightly outperforming their xG tally, which shows that they really are this good.

They have multiple iterations of their front three, depending on who is fit and who matches up best with the opposition. This allows Jurgen Klopp to have an immense amount of flexibility with his rotation depending on how he wants to set up his team. However, the defense has been a slightly different story.

The Reds have conceded just 15 goals, but have also conceded nearly 20 xG in their 16 matches. That's still a very good number and would be the third-best in the league, but perhaps Liverpool would be second or third in the table instead of first. They have Alisson Becker to thank for this as he has prevented exactly four goals in 14 matches this season.

It's hard to find a critique for this team, but the lack of defensive quality of the midfield is a big reason why they concede more shots than they should. If they had an elite number six who could hold and distribute from deeper in the midfield, this would be one of the top-three teams in the world.

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Manchester United

Manchester United have really struggled this season. Their league position and some of the results they have picked up have papered over the obvious cracks of this dysfunctional side.

They have scored just 18 goals on 25.5 xG. Conversely, they have conceded just 21 goals, but have an xG tally of 26.6. Andre Onana has made some bad mistakes, but he has also kept United in games and even won them some games, which seems to go under the radar.

Manchester United also have an injury crisis. For this trip to Anfield, United will likely be without Lindelof, Malacia, Mount, Rashford, Martinez, Maguire, Eriksen, Casemiro and Martial to injury. They also won't have their club captain, Bruno Fernandes, available after he received a fifth yellow card in their most recent match.

The last time these two matched up with each other at Anfield the final score line was 7-0 in favor of Liverpool. I don't think it is an exaggeration when I say that we could see a repeat performance in this match.


Liverpool vs Manchester United

Prediction

United have just been knocked out of the Champions League, lost to Bournemouth 3-0 at home and do not have the majority of their starting 11 healthy for this match. There is no doubt that they'll be lacking confidence, especially against a Liverpool side that is in such good form at Anfield.

Manchester United haven't beaten Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League since 2016 and I expect that trend to continue. Liverpool are -320 favorites and I still see value on them.

I will be taking Liverpool -1.5 (-130) in this match. I also like Liverpool’s team total Over 2.5 goals as United will have a makeshift defense.

Pick: Liverpool -1.5 (-130 via DraftKings)

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