Why Sparks Will Fly When Favoured Man United Face Liverpool
by Bodog Sportsbook | Feb 10 2012
The biggest derby in England is set for Round Two as Manchester United hosts Liverpool at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Reds eked out a 2-1 win in the FA Cup meeting two weeks ago as Dirk Kuyt played hero with a dramatic goal just two minutes from time at Anfield.
All eyes will be on Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and United defender Patrice Evra as they’ll be facing each other for the first time since the Uruguayan lobbed racial slurs to the Frenchman late last season. Suarez was since banned for eight games.
The odds makers have Man United listed as a -120 favorite on the
betting lines to exact some revenge with Liverpool posted at +330 and the draw sitting at +265. The Red Devils have lost to Liverpool just once in their last eight games at Old Trafford.
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Evra, Suarez look to bury the hatchetSuarez is going to be the recipient of plenty of hatred at Old Trafford. Surely, the fans will boo every time he touches the ball. It will be the first time he’ll be face-to-face with Evra, the man whom he racially abused back in October.
While the crowd at Old Trafford will add sparks, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has publicly stated that the fire will put out very quickly. He spoke with Suarez and he’ll be shaking hands with Evra to bury the hatchet in the pre-game ceremonies.
Suarez returned to action in the scoreless draw against Tottenham on Monday.
United playing better in EPLWhile the Reds earned the win in the FA Cup meeting on January 28th, they haven’t been as strong as the Red Devils in the EPL this season. Liverpool is seventh in the table with 39 points on the year while Manchester United (55 points) can move into first place with a win.
Liverpool could really use a win as the race for the final Champions League spot has been quite heated. They earned yet another draw at home on Monday – their eighth at home this season – and they are still three points back of Newcastle for fifth place.
The return of Suarez should give them a boost as he’s quite the creator up front. Andy Carroll and Dirk Kuyt are decent, but Suarez can make something out of nothing, which isn’t something that’s often seen from the former two.
The Red Devils have played particularly well at Old Trafford (9-1-2) and given the history with Suarez, they are likely to clamp down extra tight on him to make sure he doesn’t provide the necessary spark to the lackluster Liverpool attack.
Rooney, Nani return to actionThere’s no question that Man United is more dangerous on the
betting lines with striker Wayne Rooney in the lineup. He leads the team with 15 goals and was the difference between a loss and a 3-3 draw with Chelsea last Sunday. He had a pair of tallies in that contest.
He missed the FA Cup meeting with Liverpool with a foot injury along with Nani. With United in better shape from an injury perspective and the return of Suarez fueling the crowd, they should be in for a much better effort than their 2-1 shortcoming at Anfield.
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