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Here's your chance!Liverpool's attacking group could find form through Manchester United
To some extent, most of Liverpool's strikers have not been able to provide consistent attacking output this season, and it was Egyptian star Mohamed Salah who finally helped them out of their trouble. The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner is the only striker to score in the Premier League and remain fit since December.
Jota went into injury form after scoring in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Brentford on the second weekend of November. Dias scored the equaliser against Luton Town on the first weekend of November, but has not scored in the league since. Even more surprising is the fact that Nunez has not scored in the Premier League since October, while Gakpo has not scored since his equaliser against Tottenham in September.
Admittedly, Gakpo was unfortunate to pick up injury in the defeat to Tottenham and has not been given regular minutes since. He did open his account in the Europa League, but he failed to bring his goalscoring form back into the league. Dias had a tough time off the pitch and he wasn't so lucky on the pitch as many of his goals were blown away.
Nunez has hit the woodwork five times in the league this season, but unlike many other top strikers, his actual goals this season have been higher than expected. While Darwin is often criticised for his inconsistent shots, he is actually improving his goalscoring efficiency by adjusting his shooting position. Perhaps people did overreact to his criticism a bit.
Manchester United, who have been inconsistent this season, could bring Liverpool's attacking group back to form.
The Red Devils have lost three of their last five matches and are bottom of the Champions League. Ten Hag has lost seven of his first 16 Premier League games and is under intense managerial pressure.
Manchester United are the sixth-bottom team in the Premier League this season, with only Luton, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United scoring fewer goals than the Red Devils this season. Manchester United are also only 11th in expected goals, suggesting that they are not a team that can really pose a threat to their opponents, and Liverpool are at the top of the table in this metric.
While Manchester United and Liverpool have both kept five clean sheets, their basic stats prove that they are not a very resolute team in defence. They have the ninth highest expected number of goals conceded (27) and have actually conceded 21 goals.
To put it simply, United don't pose much of a threat in attack, while they will also leave their opponents with more chances in defence. Based on Ten Hag's confident pre-match statements, perhaps United will not be playing very conservatively in this game, and Liverpool may use the opportunity to crush the Red Devils at some point in the game.