Manchester United vs Liverpool preview, team news, and H2H as Michael Carrick eyes statement win

Manchester United could solidify their place as third on the English Premier League table when they take on Liverpool, Afrik Foot reports.

Michael Carrick has turned the fortunes of the Red Devils around since replacing Ruben Amorim on the sidelines at Old Trafford.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have had a terrible campaign as defending Champions, but could salvage a poor season by sealing UEFA Champions League qualification.

Kick-off is slated for 16:30 BST (4:30 PM WAT) on Sunday, 3 May 2026 at Old Trafford.

Match Preview: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

Some fixtures carry a weight beyond the three points. This is one of them. United sit third in the Premier League table with 61 points; Liverpool are fourth with 58. Three points separate two of football’s greatest rivals in a straight fight for a Champions League place with four games left in the season.

A Liverpool win on Sunday would move them above United on goal difference. A United victory would begin to put distance between the sides at precisely the moment it matters most.

The context within that context is equally compelling. Mohamed Salah, who will leave Liverpool when the season ends, was injured against Crystal Palace last weekend and has been ruled out by Arne Slot.

He will not play at Old Trafford again in a Liverpool shirt. That detail says something about the season he has endured, and about the larger significance of this fixture.

Carrick was appointed on an interim basis at the 22nd gameweek and has since transformed United’s season. Since his arrival, the Red Devils have accumulated 29 points from 13 matches, nine wins, two draws and two defeats, the best record in the Premier League over that period.

In their most recent outing, a 2-1 win over Brentford, Casemiro opened the scoring, and Benjamin Sesko doubled the lead before half-time, with United holding firm despite a late Jensen goal.

The individual narrative running through this game is Bruno Fernandes and the record books. With 19 Premier League assists this season, the United captain is one away from equalling the all-time single-season record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

A match against Liverpool at Old Trafford is the stage for exactly that kind of moment, and Fernandes has already become only the third United player in history to score or assist in eight consecutive home Premier League appearances, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool arrive on the back of three successive Premier League wins: 2-0 against Fulham, 2-1 in the Merseyside derby against Everton and 3-1 at Crystal Palace.

Head to Head: Manchester United vs. Liverpool

In the Premier League era alone, United hold the edge with 33 wins to Liverpool’s 24, with 16 draws. The goal tally, however, leans marginally towards Liverpool, 103 to 96, a reflection of the intensity and balance that has defined this rivalry across decades.

Across the last five meetings, the record is perfectly level: two wins apiece and one draw. The reverse fixture at Anfield in October 2025 produced a dramatic United comeback. Liverpool led through Cody Gakpo in the 78th minute before Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire completed a stunning turnaround, Fernandes delivering what was described as one of the finest passes of his season to create the decisive goal.

A further trend demands attention: all five of the last meetings between these sides have produced at least three goals. The fixture does not breed caution.

Team News

Manchester United

Matthijs de Ligt has been absent for several months with a persistent back problem and has no confirmed return date. Lisandro Martínez is suspended and will miss Sunday’s fixture. Matheus Cunha, the match-winner against Chelsea, missed the Brentford game with a minor hip injury but is expected to return to the squad for Sunday.

Carrick is otherwise well-stocked. Casemiro provides the defensive midfield platform that allows Fernandes to operate in a higher, more creative position. Mbeumo and Amad Diallo provide pace and directness on the flanks, while Sesko leads the attack; six of his ten Premier League goals this season have come since Carrick’s appointment, a return that underlines the benefit of a settled role and a manager who trusts him.

Predicted Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Heaven, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Amad; Sesko.

Liverpool

The scale of Liverpool’s injury problems has reached a critical point at the worst possible time. Salah is out with the knock sustained against Crystal Palace, confirming that what will be his last chance to play at Old Trafford as a Red has passed.

Hugo Ekitiké, first choice in attack for much of the season, ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain and will not feature again this campaign.

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was injured in the Everton match, leaving Freddie Woodman to start in goal. Giovanni Leoni has been absent since September with a cruciate ligament rupture.

The attacking burden therefore falls primarily on Alexander Isak in the centre, Florian Wirtz through the middle, and Cody Gakpo from the left.

Gakpo has already scored twice against United in the Premier League this season. Curtis Jones provides the primary attacking outlet from right-back, while Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai form the midfield unit.

Predicted Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Woodman; Jones, Van Dijk, Konaté, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Wirtz, Isak, Gakpo.

The Managers

Michael Carrick’s interim appointment has been one of the stories of the Premier League season. Brought in on an interim basis in the 22nd gameweek with United drifting, the former England midfielder has presided over 29 points from a possible 39.

His approach has been measured and methodical, with the tactical clarity and man-management of a coach who knows this club deeply.

Benjamin Sesko has publicly called for Carrick to be given the job permanently, a statement that carries weight from a striker who has thrived under his tenure.

Sunday represents the biggest test of his temporary reign, and the result that would do most to make the case for permanence.

Arne Slot arrives at Old Trafford managing the consequences of a season in which injury has repeatedly overturned his best-laid plans.

The Dutchman has held Liverpool’s top-four ambitions together through significant disruption, and his squad’s ability to produce three consecutive wins in the league, including a derby victory over Everton, while missing key players.

However, the cumulative loss of Salah, Ekitiké, and Mamardashvili ahead of a fixture of this magnitude is a challenge that tactical preparation alone cannot fully address.

Slot’s management of the post-Salah reality begins, in earnest, on Sunday afternoon.

Tactical Preview

Carrick will set United up in their 4-2-3-1, with Casemiro anchoring the defensive midfield structure and releasing Fernandes to operate in a higher, freer role in the pocket between Liverpool’s lines.

Mbeumo and Amad provide pace and directness from the flanks, while Sesko’s combination of physical presence and finishing threat gives United a focal point that Liverpool’s rebuilt central defensive partnership of Van Dijk and Konaté will be tested to contain.

Liverpool will rely on the Wirtz-Isak combination to generate the threat that Salah and Ekitiké would ordinarily provide.

Wirtz’s ability to drift into pockets of space behind the United midfield represents the primary danger for Carrick’s side, and the Casemiro-Kobbie Mainoo double pivot must function with collective discipline to prevent him from operating in those areas freely.

Gakpo, who has scored twice against United this season, is the most proven threat from a goalscoring perspective and will look to exploit any gaps left by Dalot on the Liverpool left.

Liverpool have lost 67% of their away Premier League fixtures over the last six gameweeks, a road form that stands in sharp contrast to their record at Anfield.

Old Trafford, roared on by a support experiencing a genuine title-of-the-season run, will not be a comfortable afternoon for a side missing three of its most important players.