There may be arguably no more durable defeat for Liverpool followers to take than one to bitter rivals Manchester United.
And that’s notably true when it comes within the closing seconds of additional time in an FA Cup quarter-final the Reds had led with 4 minutes of the 90 remaining, as was the case on March 17.
Nonetheless, as soon as the mud had settled on final month’s disappointing journey to Outdated Trafford, it was at the very least fairly simple for supporters to see the a number of mitigating elements concerned and discover some perspective.
Frankly, it was no shock that the guests appeared leggy within the latter phases of what was their ninth recreation in 30 days, particularly given United had been contesting their sixth.
There may be additionally little doubt that the 2 clear midweeks Erik Ten Hag’s males had loved within the buildup to the sport additionally performed a task by way of night issues up.
The trophy all of us need
And although discuss of Liverpool’s quadruple desires being smashed adopted, there can’t have been many followers on the market who thought of {that a} real looking goal.
In the meantime, the FA Cup clearly ranked because the lowest precedence of the three trophies the Reds had been competing for on the time.
However whereas all these elements made it considerably simpler for Liverpool supporters to rapidly transfer on from their workforce’s final journey to Outdated Trafford, it won’t be so simple ought to there be the same end result this week.
There is no such thing as a query that, above every other trophy, Kopites need to see Klopp finish his reign by including one other Premier League title to the Champions Wall.
And, with Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal lurking, something however three factors from this weekend’s fixture casts critical doubt on that end result.
Liverpool in higher form
Thankfully for the Reds, they’re heading to Outdated Trafford in much better form than they discovered themselves simply three weeks in the past.
For starters, each groups have performed the identical quantity of fixtures (two) for the reason that closing worldwide break of the season, which means there must be no clear benefit by way of legs.
Liverpool, in the meantime, have seen their choices boosted by the current returns from harm of Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones.
And maybe most crucially, they’re now not able the place they might want to withdraw both Mohamed Salah or Dominik Szoboszlai early in an effort to handle their minutes.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Alisson nonetheless sidelined, Manchester United nonetheless received’t be going through the strongest doable model of Liverpool, nevertheless it ought to nonetheless be one that’s adequate to win.
The 22-point hole
The actual fact is, 22 factors and 5 locations presently separate these two groups within the Premier League, and but Ten Hag’s males have in some way managed a draw and a victory from their two conferences up to now this season.
If they’re to go on and benefit from the dream end to this season – and certainly Klopp’s reign – then Liverpool should certainly put that proper on Sunday.
Ought to they fail to take action, then there might be far fewer excuses for Klopp and his gamers to cling to this time round.
