Crouchy’s Shouts: Liverpool to breeze past struggling Man United tonight

Peter Crouch gives us his view on Man United's huge clash with Liverpool on Monday evening as both sides look for a first win of the season

By / Football Tips, Premier League / 2 years ago

Crouchy’s Shouts For Man United v Liverpool

Monday 8pm: Man United v Liverpool
TV: Sky Sports Main Event

I don’t think United are going to continue losing the way they have the first two weeks of the season. They will start picking up points.

I can’t see them in the top four at the end of the season but they should be just outside it. This poor run won’t continue.

Saying that, I’m still very confident Liverpool will get the result on Monday night.

Even with their injury problems – Thiago, Matip, Konate, Jota, Henderson, Gomez to name just a few who are sidelined – I still think they have far more than United going into this and should beat them comfortably.

The 5-0 at Old Trafford and 4-0 at Anfield might play on the minds of United’s players, but also, sometimes this is the kind of game you need when you’re in a slump.

It’s one where they’re not really expected to win even though they’re at home. Sometimes, when you have a game like this come up against a big team and you’re struggling, the occasion lifts you.

CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 13: Peter Crouch (L) of Liverpool shoots on goal during the FA Cup Final match between Liverpool and West Ham United at the Millennium Stadium on May 13, 2006 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

If United are playing Southampton or Brighton at Old Trafford, they’re usually expected to win and the crowd won’t be as up for it, so you have to lift the supporters with the way you play.

But that’s not an issue in a game like this – you know the crowd are going to be up for it.

Oddly, as a player, I often found it easier to play these big games than playing against the teams you’re expected to beat because often the crowd is flat and the atmosphere around it just isn’t the same.

This really is a big game for United though and, however hard it may seem right now, this is really a game they should try to enjoy.

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Though they probably won’t given the way things have gone recently. Even if they can get the crowd behind them, I still think Liverpool should run out easy winners.

Liverpool have a lot of injuries – Jota’s still expected to be out, Firmino might be available but he could be rust – and then Nunez is suspended, so Salah really is the obvious mainstay for them up front.

However, Luis Diaz is still there alongside him and scored a great goal against Palace, so I would expect him to contribute to at least one Liverpool goal if they win.

It’s hard to see where goals are coming from for United at the moment, beyond Ronaldo obviously. They might nick a goal with Liverpool missing so many players, and he’s the most likely.

If he doesn’t get the service his frustration could see him land in the ref’s notebook too.

You would expect United to come out fighting for a game like this. They have to.

The fans will want to see tackles and passion in game like this, especially after some of the performances recently.

Taking another beating at home could be a big problem for them, and there are plans for a protest before the game against the owners none of which bodes well, so the team will need to show a bit of fight for this and cards should be flying.

Crouchy’s Shouts For Man United v Liverpool

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What do you think?