The Theatre of Dreams will today (18.00) host arguably the greatest derby in England – the clash between Manchester United and Liverpool. For the first time in history, this duel will be coloured red, white, and blue, but not because of the British but instead the Dutch flag.Namely, for the first time ever, both teams’ head coaches come from the Netherlands – Erik ten Hag (Man United) and Arne Slot (Liverpool). Moreover, each team has three Dutchmen in its squads: the injured Tyrell Malacia and the newcomers Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee at United and Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, and the skipper Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool.Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot have beaten each other twice in previous managerial battles 👊🇳🇱Who will come out on top this time, in @ManUtd v @LFC? pic.twitter.com/cKa3ZvSc4N— Premier League (@premierleague) September 1, 2024 The two gaffers go way back. While they were coaching Ajax (Ten Hag), AZ Alkmaar, and Feyenoord (Slot) in their homeland, they met four times, and each of them won two games. In the 2019/2020 season, the Reds’ manager did a double over Ten Hag, leading AZ, but Erik retaliated to Arne the season after when Slot took Feyenoord over. Additionally, Ten Hag lost only once to Liverpool, but that was a terrible 7-0 defeat from March 2023.Ten Hag somehow survived on United’s bench, although he was on the verge of being sacked. So far, it seems that nothing has changed. His team still gives unconvincing performances without continuity. They started the new season in that manner, barely beating Fulham on the opening Premier League night, only to lose at Brighton last weekend. On the other hand, Slot began his spell with the Reds with two 2-0 triumphs over Ipswich and Brentford.UNITE. FIGHT.#MUFC || #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/tr1lJ1tsP2— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 1, 2024 The last duel between today’s rivals took place in the USA at the pre-season tour, when Liverpool easily crushed the Red Devils 3-0, thanks to Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones, and Konstantinos Tsimikas’ goals. As for the official matches, the last three ended in draws (United won the one in FA Cup after extra time). However, in that FA Cup clash and the previous Premier League game (2-2), the Reds’ were by far the better team but eventually fell short because they didn’t use a number of massive chances.Regarding the tactics, Liverpool have a “lethal arrow in their quiver” – underlapping runs from both flanks through Trent Alexander-Arnold and especially Andrew Robertson. Subsequently, the Reds’ wingers initiate one-on-one situations with the opponents’ full-backs, so – probably – Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot will be up for difficult tasks.Matchday in Manchester 👊#MUNLIV | #WalkOn pic.twitter.com/lboH0NIcSi— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 1, 2024 Man United have lately had problems with defending the back-post crosses. That way, they conceded many soft goals from close-range tap-ins. That happened last week against Brighton as well as against Liverpool in a pre-season game. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was problematic, but since he moved to West Ham, the newcomer Mazraoui is expected to improve the situation.Both managers had issues with the central midfielder position. Namely, United’s Mason Mount is injured, while Scott McTominay joined Napoli. Given that the reinforcement from Paris Saint-Germain, Manuel Ugarte, is still ineligible due to registration, the midfielder duo today will most likely consist of Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro.It is official: Ugarte signed, but too late for the derbyOn the other hand, Slot will have to rely on Gravenberch just like he did so far. The 22-year-old has performed well in the “No. 6 position” so far, but the derby against United will be an ultimate test. His main tasks would be securing the possession and progressing the ball in the early stages of Liverpool’s attack build-up. Still, he played under Ten Hag in Ajax, and the experienced manager surely has some ideas on how to stop his former student.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 3SaturdayArsenal – Brighton 1-1 (1-0)/Havertz 38 – Pedro 58/Ipswich – Fulham 1-1 (1-1)/Delap 15 – Traore 32/Leicester – Aston Villa 1-2 (0-1)/Buonanotte 73 – Onana 28, Duran 63/Everton – Bournemouth 2-3 (0-0)/Keane 50, Calvert-Lewin 57 – Semenyo 87, Cook 90+2, Sinisterra 90+6/Brentford – Southampton 3-1 (1-0)/Mbeumo 43, 65, Wissa 69 – Sugawara 90+5/Not.Forest – Wolverhampton 1-1 (1-1)/Wood 10 – Bellegarde 12/West Ham – Man.City 1-3 (1-2)/Dias 19 og – Haaland 10, 30, 83/Sunday15:30: (1.65) Chelsea (3.80) Crystal Palace (5.40)15:30: (2.55) Newcastle (3.90) Tottenham (2.60)18:00: (3.80) Man.Utd. (4.10) Liverpool (1.95)***odds are subject to change***
