With Tottenham very likely to be eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday, England will only have one hope to capture Europe's secondary championship. Whether it's Manchester United or Liverpool who will advance to the quarterfinals though, remains to be seen and will be decided on Thursday night at Old Trafford.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Manchester United +145
Liverpool +180
Draw +230
Over/Under 2.5 (under -125)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Manchester United is in a heck of a lot of trouble at this point. It failed to get an away goal at Anfield in the opening match of this last 16 affair, and it gave up two. Now, if the Reds can put one in the back of the net, the Red Devils will have to win this match by three goals, something that won't come easily. Of course, Manchester United did turn it on against FC Midtjylland just to reach this point in the competition at home, but this is a tall task. It seems as though the best bet for the Red Devils would be get snare a 2-0 victory over 90 minutes and try to win it in extra time.
That won't be easy either, though. The Red Devils are only +145 to win this match inside the 90 minutes, and there's a growing sentiment that Liverpool might win this outright in the 90 to end with an emphatic victory.
The total has to be significantly higher in this match than the average EPL fixture between these two knowing that United has to go for goals early and often. The number to beat is 2.5 with -125 vig set on the under.
THE FIRST MEETING
It's strange to think that a yellow card was what really sparked Liverpool in that opening fixture against the Red Devils, but it almost seemed tactical for Jordan Henderson to take a yellow for a high boot in the first 90 seconds of the soiree. From there, Liverpool's crowd was into it, and the Reds were all over the Manchester United half.
Daniel Sturridge finished off a penalty to open the scoring, while Robert Firmino finished it with a strike in the 73rd. In the interim though, Liverpool always looked the greater threat to score, and David De Gea was the hero for United to keep it in it. This match could've easily been 5-0 at the end of the day if not for the efforts of the Man U net minder, who made three brilliant first half saves and another three in the second half.
Manchester United managed just five shots, only one of which hit the target.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"The captains will talk when something needs to happen. I don't think it is about the leaders. We all have to do better at it. All the players should be leaders. Against Liverpool it is always like this – lots of duels and lots of challenges. In the first half, we were not ready. The team was not ready." – Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini trying to take the pressure off of his manager, Louis van Gaal following the lackluster showing at Anfield last week
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
It'll be interesting to see what Van Gaal does here with his lineup. He was criticized in a huge way for his squad selection against Liverpool, starting with letting Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin play in the midfield along with Memphis Depay, the latter of which is usually better served playing up front. Depay is the man who took the penalty which opened the scoring for Liverpool, and we can't imagine that he's going to be on the field in this match.
Still, this isn't a decided fixture yet. Liverpool is the more interested team when it comes to the Europa League for sure, but we could see a situation where the Red Devils get back into this tie at home. We don't think they'll ultimately have enough organization at the back to keep Liverpool from scoring, but we do see them at least winning this 90 minutes. Still, it'll be the Reds left to carry the torch for England in the Europa League.
Manchester United 2, Liverpool 1
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