Liverpool FC hit their highest point in 14 years when they won their second UEFA Champions League title on June 1, as The Inquisitr reported. And the Reds have barely let up since then, with a chance at becoming only the fourth team in English top-flight history to open a season with nine straight wins — if they can score an away victory over arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
With the maximum 24 points from eight games, Liverpool sit a full five points atop last years’ English Premier League champs Manchester City on the domestic table. But their longtime, traditional rivals Manchester United have opened the season in sluggish fashion once again. The 20-time top-flight champions are languishing in 11th place on just nine points from nine games. Nonetheless, United have not lost at home to Liverpool in six games, including five Premier League matches, according to stats from the BBC .
The streak gives Liverpool their longest winless run at Old Trafford since a 10-match drought between 1991 and 2000. But this edition of the Liverpool squad has not only avoided losing, they have won 17 consecutive Premier League matches. This puts them just one short of the record, set by Manchester City in 2017, that they will tie if they can come away with a victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Watch a preview of the Manchester United vs. Liverpool FC rivalry clash, easily the biggest game in Europe this weekend, in the video below courtesy of ESPN FC .
Though the Manchester United vs. Liverpool rivalry dates back to at least 1893, when Liverpool joined England’s Football League — Man U joined the previous year — it was largely one-sided until 1990, with Liverpool winning 18 league titles to just seven for their northern rivals. But in 1986, a Scottish Coach named Alex Ferguson had taken over at Manchester United, as Forbes recounts, and in 1992, the English top flight broke away from the Football League, renaming itself the Premier League.
And that was when Manchester United turned the tables, reeling off 13 titles under Ferguson’s guidance in the new league’s first 20 seasons. But in the 2019/2020 season, the roles appear reversed once again, with United struggling and Liverpool, so far at least, dominant.
United’s hopes for a seventh straight Old Trafford showdown against Liverpool without a loss, however, took a severe blow when both French international midfielder Paul Pogba, and Spain goalkeeper David DeGea were ruled out of the match with injuries, according to a Guardian report.
Liverpool, however, could see the return of injured Brazil goalie Alisson after two months on the sidelines, as well as defender Joel Matip, who has missed the previous two matches.
The Manchester United vs. Liverpool match is scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. local time in Manchester, England — or 11:30 a.m. EDT, 8:30 a.m. PDT in the United States. In the U.S., the game will be televised by NBC Sports Network , while in the United Kingdom, Sky Sports Main Event will broadcast the match.