Looking ahead to Sunday’s encounter between Manchester United and Liverpool, former Red Devils’ ace defender and captain Gary Neville already has serious premonitions that Jurgen Klopp’s side could inflict heavy punishment at Old Trafford.
Neville, clearly wary that United are at serious, imminent risk of being seriously remonstrated by Liverpool when the sides go head-to-head in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, is obviously not hiding behind any delusions of denial as to his club’s chances this weekend and the days immediately beyond that.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, in seeming paralysis, slumped to their third defeat in the space of five matches on Saturday afternoon, losing 4-2 to a well-prepared Leicester City squad at the King Power Stadium.
Despite their recent patchy form, United have yet to face any of the title favorites and have already struggled at home against the likes of middleweight contenders like Aston Villa and Everton. Starting on Sunday, the Red Devils will be thrown into the arena to fend for themselves against top heavyweight contenders in a daunting run of fixtures, beginning with an in-form Liverpool dazzling with their knockout blows flooring their opposition. Following that, United will then take on Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – all in the space of one month.
Having struggled to hold their own against Leicester at the weekend, Neville is now gravely concerned for what awaits the side with the big challenges all lining up.
“Oh, we know what’s coming,” Neville told Sky Sports with a tone of resignation in his voice.
“Having struggled against half decent teams, they’re now going to play against some of the best teams in the world. Next Sunday, they’re going to play Liverpool and then they have to play Man City the week after.
“They’re then going to play Tottenham and Chelsea and these are proper teams. Of course, the players could rise for those games, but that’s not a good start today [Leicester].
“The performances have been so shoddy all season in terms of team performances. There’s been some good results and some great individual goals, but the overall performances and the unit in and out of possession have been shoddy.”
Liverpool finally earned a first win at Old Trafford since 2014 last season and will be favorites to come out on top again on Sunday.
With the Anfield squad’s work-rate impressively on show for all to see in Saturday’s 5-0 win at Watford, Neville has graciously acknowledged that Liverpool players continue to show a greater sense of desire to win compared to those within United’s starting eleven.
“When I look at some of Manchester United’s players, they don’t work as hard as Mane or Firmino,” said the former Red Devils defender.
“They’re better players who work harder, and it means you’re not going to finish higher than them. Simple as that. So you better start working as hard as they do.”