Manchester United and Liverpool lock horns on Saturday in South Carolina as the bitter rivals square off Stateside in a preseason friendly.
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Manchester United have had a mixed preseason so far, with Erik ten Hag already having to contend with injury issues to two important players. New signing Leny Yoro suffered a foot injury in their 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in California last week and will be out for three months, while Rasmus Hojlund scored United’s goal in that game but then also went off injured and will be missing for six weeks. Marcus Rashford and Antony were also injured in the 3-2 win against Real Betis in San Diego ahead of this game. Aside from that the likes of Amad Diallo and Jadon Sancho have been getting plenty of minutes.
Arne Slot is slowly bedding in his new philosophy as Liverpool manager. This is the third game of their U.S. preseason tour, as they beat Real Betis 1-0 in Pittsburgh and then won 2-1 against Arsenal in Philadelphia. Plenty of superstars are still yet to join up with Slot’s squad due to their extended break after a busy summer of international action, but Mohamed Salah scored a typically calm finish against Arsenal, has a fresh look and he’s looked sharp in preseason.
How to watch Manchester United vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 7:30pm ET, Saturday (August 3)
Stadium: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, South Carolina
TV channel: ESPN
Online: ESPN+
Manchester United focus, team news
United have gradually been getting more starters back for preseason with Lisandro Martinez back in training, while Antony, Christian Eriksen, Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay have all featured in the U.S. and the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot, plus new signing Joshua Zirkzee, should all return to soon. Victor Lindelof is also fit and available. Yoro and Hojlund are out injured, while Rashford and Antony are doubts.
Liverpool focus, team news
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are yet to link-up with Liverpool after international action, while Diogo Jota is back and started in the win against Arsenal. Ibrahima Konate is also back in contention and Fabio Carvalho scored against Arsenal and is taking his chance back at Liverpool after impressing on loan at Hull City in the Championship last season.
Manchester United vs Liverpool prediction
Given the amount of games they’ve had it seems like United are slightly ahead in their preseason preparations but injuries will impact them and this should be a tight encounter. Expect Liverpool’s attacking quality, especially Salah, to cause plenty of problems on the counter. Manchester United 1-2 Liverpool.