Manchester United vs Liverpool Betting Tips

Man Utd entertain Liverpool in one of the clashes of the season so far at Old Trafford on Sunday and both sides will approach the game in the right frame of mind following their respective midweek Champions League victories. In the overall head to head record between these two sides, the Red Devils hold sway having won 64 of their 171 meetings in all domestic competitions, Liverpool bagging 57 victories and 50 ending all square. Since the inauguration of the Premiership in 1992/93, Sir Alex Ferguson's charges have firmly held the upper hand over Pool, beating the Merseysiders on 14 occasions, while losing just seven times to them, and half-a-dozen encounters have resulted in a point apiece. Interestingly, although they have lost the last two fixtures in Manchester, the Reds have defeated United in three of their last six visits to Old Trafford in the Premiership, which suggests that they are more than capable of taking centre stage in the Theatre of Dreams when on song. The greater momentum is, however, with Man Utd at present. Currently, they sit top of the Premiership on goal difference ahead of Chelsea having lost just one of their eight games in the competition so far this season. United have scored 17 goals in the league, an average of over two per match, and have not conceded more than one goal in any Premiership fixture this term. Conversely, Rafa Benitez's men sit mid-table at the time of writing, largely owing to their away form. They've not registered a victory in their quartet of fixtures away from Anfield in the Premiership during the current campaign, losing three times and bagging a point once. Liverpool appeared to have genuine title credentials when the Premiership curtain was raised on August 19 but their match on that opening day of the season - a 1-1 draw against newly promoted Sheffield United - has set the tone to a certain extent. Subsequently, they have lost away to Everton, Chelsea and Bolton, and in their most recent league bout they were held to a draw by Blackburn. The Reds' problem on their travels is clear: they've scored just one goal in their four away matches. For a side that now boasts Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt, in addition to Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler - not to mention a host of midfielders with goalscoring potential - this is pretty poor show to be candid. With Louis Saha looking sharp, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer completely revitalised and, most importantly, Wayne Rooney recapturing his form following an indifferent spell, Man Utd are looking irresistible at present. Unless Liverpool awake from their slumber - and maybe, just maybe, the sense of occasion will be conducive to them doing so - it looks as though their descent down the Premiership pecking order will have spiralled further come Sunday afternoon. Although petulance has often cost Rooney dear - he has had enough suspensions for both club and country to demonstrate this point - the 20-year-old showed a great deal of maturity when, in the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs on Tuesday evening, he was made captain for the Champions League match against Copenhagen, which the Red Devils won 3-0. Despite the weight of expectation and the pressure on him to score, Rooney showed no signs of frustration. Instead, he contributed to the game with his usual energetic display, often producing sublime touches and overall producing an impressive performance which signals that the barren patch is over. However, while Roon will explode back onto the goalscoring scene sometime soon, I'm a bit reluctant to recommend him in the first goalscorer market given that he seemed to be playing pretty deep against Copenhagen. Indeed, the first chance, after just 25 seconds in that match, fell to Saha, and the Frenchman really should have converted from close range. United's defence look rock-solid at present and, unless Liverpool do all of a sudden switch into a higher gear, I cannot seem them making the net behind Edwin Van der Sar shake, therefore Paddy Power's alluring offer of 5/4 about the home side keeping a clean sheet looks pretty good to me. I was initially tempted by that same firms offer of 15/8 about United winning to nil. But under the circumstances I'd imagine that Benitez will be relieved just not to lose this fixture, so there's a good chance that Pool will get plenty of players behind the ball and aim to thwart United's attacks. I think that Man Utd will probably find a way through and win, but profit is the order of the day and opting for Sir Alex's men to keep it clean looks the safest bet. Verdict: 4pts Man Utd to keep a clean sheet @ 5/4 (Paddy Power)