Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United blog recap: Premier League coverage - updates, statistics and in-play betting tips

• Premier League table
• Latest Sky Bet odds: Liverpool 1/20 for Premier League title

1826: Report: Liverpool edge past old rivals

Liverpool took another step towards what seems an inevitable first Premier League title as they beat Manchester United 2-0 at Anfield.

Click the image below for the report, Opta stats and more reaction...

1823: 'We're gonna win the league!'

That song rings around Anfield. It's not been sung with so much belief in a long time.

A huge win for the Reds to go 16 points clear.

'We are not thinking about the end,' insists captain Jordan Henderson.

Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah help Liverpool to victory, with Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum also having goals chalked off by VAR.

Man United had some good chances as Liverpool failed to kill the game off for long periods, but this dominant side did the job. Report and reaction to follow on Sporting Life.

Thanks for joining us for coverage of the big game this evening, enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening!

1821: Liverpool 2-0 Man United (Van Dijk, Salah)

There's the whistle.

1819: GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Man United (Salah)

No surprise. The corner comes to nothing, Alisson quickly dispatches and Salah is through on goal. James is the man tracking back but the Egyptian is cool and finishes past De Gea.

Jamie Carragher on commentary even says that must be the title now.

1818: De Gea quick out of his goal

Man United commit players forward, including Maguire, and Liverpool attack with Salah seemingly set through, but De Gea was quick out of his net. He's been watching Alisson!

United get a corner,De Gea wants to go but he is not allowed.

1815: How Neville reacted to Martial's miss

...and he sounded so calm on air 😂

1814: Man United change

Shaw, making his first appearance since New Year's Day due to an injury and illness, cramps up and is replaced by Dalot.

1811: Liverpool's dangerous free-kick

It looks like it could be shooting range for Trent, but instead it is swung in from around 30 yards. Probably rather not risk an ambitious shot when it's so close.

I don't want to jinx it, but our pre-match tip was Liverpool to win to nil. They are nearly there.

They will also go 16 points clear at the top with a game in hand. Astonishing by mid-January.

1809: Reds run down the clock

Fabinho and Origi on for Firmino and Mane. Seven plus stoppage time.

1804: Into the last quarter of an hour

A chance for Greenwood at the far post after getting inside Robertson after Martial's cross, but Van Dijk's jump probably did enough to put him off.

Around 12 minutes plus stoppage time remaining and with just a goal between them Liverpool are getting slightly edgy, both on and off the field.

1801: Laura Woods column

A good chance for us to plug our new columnist's debut piece. Sky Sports and talkSPORT presenter Laura Woods is Sporting Life's January signing.

We will have fortnightly pieces with her unique insight and views. Take a read of her first entry by clicking the image below.

1756: That Martial chance replayed

1752: Here comes Lallana

One former Southampton man for another (not like that helps!), as Lallana replaces Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is not happy. Taking his frustration out on the fancy seats in Liverpool's dugout.

1746: Big chance for United

Martial finds a gap between Gomez and Alexander-Arnold, plays a one-two with Pereira and finds himself in behind. The ball is bouncing but he has a great opportunity to beat Alisson and the Frenchman, usually a cool head in front of goal, blazes wide. A big let-off for the league leaders.

Even though it's just 1-0, this is a great, intriguing watch. Another goal in this for sure and United have had a couple of chances in recent minutes.

1745: Just what Man United fans need to find out now

Solskjaer said before kick-off that Rashford should not be out for too long. Poker face:

1744: Man United attack

Van Dijk drops off, Fred gets space and tries to go in at the near post, just wide. Decent effort.

1742: Stat attack

Second half attempts:

• Liverpool - 7
• Man United - 0

Wow.

1740: Le Tiss and Lineker wade in

1736: Post!

Henderson is given space on the edge of the box and the Reds skipper tries his luck. The replay shows De Gea did well to tip it onto the post. A Liverpool second cannot be far off.

'He's on the waltzer, he's spinning everywhere!' - Gary Neville on Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Oxlade Chamberlain is next to have a go, from 18 yards, De Gea holds it.

Check out the latest in-play markets here

1735: Liverpool start quickly

Liverpool come bursting out the blocks, Robertson bypasses Wan-Bissaka and Salah, who has been fairly quiet so far, mishits it and the ball trickles just past the far post. Another let off. For now.

1733: Second half

...is underway. Both sides unchanged. Can United get back into this one? Stay here to find out.

1731: Souness on VAR

1724: SKY BET PRICE BOOSTS

• Mohamed Salah to score the second goal - 5/1
• Sadio Mane to score in 90 mins - 5/2
• Correct Score - Liverpool 4-0 - 14/1
• Anthony Martial to score the second goal - 7/1
• Brandon Williams to be carded - 11/4

Click here to see the latest in-play markets

1717: HALF-TIME - Liverpool 1-0 Man United (Van Dijk)

Shortly after Liverpool take their EIGHTH corner - yes eight, versus Man United's zero - Craig Pawson calls an end to the first half.

United started well but Virgil van Dijk's header changed things shortly before the 15-minute mark. The Reds have dominated since, with Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum having goals ruled out by VAR. First, for a foul on De Gea in the build-up (see a little further down) and the second a correct offside decision.

Red Devils fans will be relieved it's just one, meaning all to play for in the second period.

1714: Shot on target!

Pereira runs into the Liverpool half and is given space by Robertson and Van Dijk, who continue to step off the Brazilian. He shoots and compatriot Alisson does well to make the stop.

At the other end, De Gea makes amends for his dropped effort before by denying Mane with his trailing leg. Great save.

1710: Comical

A Man United attack is just about summed up as Pereira and James run into each other in the box. It makes its way to Martial who shoots wide of Alisson's goal.

A more promising attack follows as Wan-Bissaka makes a run at the far post, pokes it across goal and Pereira cannot get to it. He probably leads with the wrong leg. Better from the visitors.

1708: Replay of Firmino's goal ruled out by VAR

What do we think?

1705: Another let-off for United

Great move as Robertson passes inside, Firmino flicks it back to Oxlade-Chamberlain who slides it through to Wijnaldum on the left of the box. The Dutchman, at pace, opens up his body and finishes wonderfully past De Gea just inside the far post.

The linesman has his flag raised instantly, so no celebrations, and VAR gives it a check. Correct decision. A great move though and another wake-up call for United.

What can Ole do? Eight plus stoppage time until the break and only one team looks like scoring so far. Well, that team has had the ball in the back of the net three times already.

1701: Missing Rashford?

The forward usually plays well against Liverpool and United have not had the same effect with Anthony Martial leading the line. Nothing against him in particular, just zero shots on target and zero shots at all is not good for Manchester United in the first half hour of any game.

1658: Goal replay - Van Dijk's header

1654: Liverpool goal ruled out by VAR!

Firmino has the ball in the back of the net, which goes to a VAR review. Unfortunate as he is yet to score at Anfield this season.

It came after De Gea fumbled the ball when under pressure from Van Dijk. The Spaniard drops it, Lindelof's clearance is poor and it finds Firmino on the edge of the box, who finishes wonderfully with a finesse shot into the far corner.

De Gea is furious and gets a yellow card for his protests to referee Craig Pawson. After a VAR review Man United get the benefit of the doubt, but it looked soft.

VAR claim Van Dijk made no attempt to play the ball, which is ridiculous as he definitely jumped towards it. Hopefully we'll get a clip to show you shortly.

1652: Liverpool well on top

Liverpool piling on the pressure with a couple of recent corners - they have had five already. They are now on top in possession too, with 64%.

Mane came close then after being put through by Firmino, with the help of a deflection off Fred, but Shaw got in there with a last-minute clearance. Desperation.

1644: GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Man United (Van Dijk)

The visitors started reasonably well but the Reds get a corner and Big Virg climbs higher than Harry Maguire to send a thumping header past David De Gea.

See, if they still put men on posts then a marker may have got to that one. What ever happened to covering the posts?!

When scoring first Liverpool have won 64 of 73. Good luck, Ole.

1637: Early booking

Matic goes in the book after a high foot on Wijnaldum. No warnings. The Serbian walking the tightrope now for the best part of 80 minutes.

A red card in-play is currently at 4/1 with Sky Bet here

1633: Man United's promising signs

Man United start on the front foot and get a free-kick in a dangerous area, around 30 yards and right of centre. Fred lays off Pereira for a cross, and the free-kick is cleared. Liverpool's attack fails and again United having a lot of the ball. Leading them into a false sense of security?

1630: Kick-off

Here we go! Sit back, relax and watch the action unfold with us. Man United start by attacking the Kop end.

1627: Here come the teams

As You'll Never Walk Alone rings around Anfield. It's nearly time! Hopefully we are in for a cracker and not a disappointment.

Their head to head record reads:

• Liverpool - 66 wins
• Draw - 57
• Man United - 80 wins

1622: Pundit predictions

Read their thoughts in full here - but here's the scorelines the Soccer Saturday guys are going for...

Phil Thompson: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)

Matt Le Tissier: Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)

Charlie Nicholas: Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)

Eight minutes to go!

1620: Last minute reading

Click the images to take a look...

Reds to keep run going

Paul Higham previews Sunday's big game at Anfield where Man Utd hope to end Liverpool's amazing unbeaten run.

Alex Keble: Caution key at Anfield

Despite the huge points gap between the two, Alex Keble has a tactical word of caution for Liverpool as they face their dangerous old enemy Manchester United at Anfield.

Will records ruin the Reds?

Robert O’Connor looks at how Liverpool need to avoid letting their long unbeaten run get in the way of their primary objective of winning the Premier League.

1612: Flashback

1606: Roy Keane is worried

"Rashford is a big loss. When I see people like Shaw coming back into the team...the nearer we are getting to kick-off, the more worried I'm getting. I was fine a couple of hours ago. The more I look at the players, getting warmed up, these silly hats, I don't know...I'm worried I have to say."

1603: Carragher and Neville discuss the team news

1556: FULL-TIME: Burnley 2-1 Leicester

A big win for the Clarets, who end a four-match losing run. Report to follow on Sporting Life.

1552: Match preview and tips

• With the game now less than 40 minutes away, let's look at the betting preview from my colleague Paul Higham, who expects the hosts to continue their astonishing run.

Click here for the full preview

Liverpool haven’t conceded in six league games, and since Joe Gomez renewed his partnership with Virgil van Dijk in December they’ve looked increasingly sturdy at the back so without Rashford and with possession set to be limited another clean sheet could well be on the cards.

A lot depends on just how United will play, you know what you get from Liverpool these days and in all likelihood they’ll dominate possession and look to prod and probe and get Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson in down the flanks.

A fascinating aspect of the game will therefore come out wide against Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams – two of United’s better performers. Gary Neville's a big fan of left-back Williams and his feisty attitude, but with four bookings in five starts it's clear that the youngster may struggle to keep a lid on his emotions in such a hostile environment.

Going up against Alexander-Arnold and Salah is a tough afternoon in anyone's book so when you can get a stand-out price of 5/2 for him to get a card, that's one avenue to explore along with the results-based markets.

In these, Rashford may make a difference but he looked like he wouldn't be 100 per cent in any case,

Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Man United (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)

Best bet: Liverpool to win to nil at 6/4

1545: Flashback - short report from 1-1 Old Trafford draw

Substitute Adam Lallana saved Liverpool from a chastening loss at bitter rivals Manchester United in a pulsating Premier League clash which had its share of VAR drama.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side headed into this match as underdogs against Jurgen Klopp's rampant side - little wonder given the visitors had won their last 17 league matches and the Red Devils were just a point off the relegation zone.

United have so often been the scourge of Liverpool at Old Trafford, though, and were on course for a memorable win thanks to Marcus Rashford's contentious goal, only for late replacement Lallana to secure a 1-1 draw.

1543: Pre-match facts, thanks to our friends at Opta

• Since completing a league double over Man Utd in 2013-14, Liverpool have won just one of their 11 Premier League games against the Red Devils (D5 L5).
• Manchester United are winless in their last four away matches against Liverpool in all competitions (D2 L2) since a 1-0 win in January 2016 in the Premier League.
• Liverpool have lost 28 Premier League matches against Manchester United, eight more than against any other club.
• Liverpool will face Manchester United at Anfield for a league game starting the day top of the table for the first time since September 1990, winning 4-0 under Kenny Dalglish.
• Among the 31 teams Jürgen Klopp has faced 10 or more times during his managerial career, his worst win ratio is against Manchester United (20% - P10 W2 D6 L2).
• Manchester United have lost their last two away Premier League games on Merseyside against Liverpool and Everton; they haven’t lost three in a row in the top-flight since April 1979.
• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 38 Premier League games (W33 D5), the third longest such run in the competition’s history. The two longer runs (Arsenal 49, Chelsea 40) were both ended by Manchester United, but in games that took place at Old Trafford.
• Liverpool have scored in all 21 of their Premier League games so far this season – the last side to score in each of their first 22 games of a season in the competition were Arsenal in 2001-02, who scored in all 38 games in a title-winning term.
• Coming into this weekend’s matches, no player has scored the opening goal in more different Premier League games this season than Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford (6). Rashford has also scored what proved to be the winning goal five times this term, with only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah netting more winners (6).
• Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood has scored four Premier League goals this season – the last teenager to net more in a single campaign in the competition was Marcus Rashford in 2016-17 (5).

1538: Score update - Burnley 2-1 Leicester (Wood, Westwood; Barnes)

Ashley Westwood scores his first goal in a Burnley shirt at Turf Moor as Sean Dyche's side take a 2-1 lead over Leicester. 10 to go. A big second half from the Clarets which has seen Nick Pope also save Jamie Vardy's penalty.

1537: Team news

Liverpool unchanged from their Premier League victory at Tottenham last week, while for Manchester United the big news is Marcus Rashford missing out with that back injury which flared up in the FA Cup win over Wolves. A big risk to play him there which has not paid off.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes two changes in total from their win over Norwich, Dan James and Luke Shaw coming in as Juan Mata also makes way.

It is thought United have a back three, or five, however you look at it. One way to deal with Liverpool's attack - and those manacing full-backs.

1530: Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the weekend's big Premier League clash. It's Liverpool v Man United at Anfield...and it's LIVE!

That's my best Martin Tyler impression. I am George Pitts, keeping you company for coverage of what will hopefully be an entertaining clash.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are, remember, the only team to take points from Liverpool in the league this term and with their great rivals so far ahead at the top of the pile, they would love to at least claim some bragging rights.

We will be providing regular updates, stats, in-play clips and the odd tip as the action unfolds, so do stay with us, sit back and relax!

We'll bring you our tips, pundit predictions and much more, but first we'll take a look at the team news...

Get in touch by tweeting @SportingLifeFC or @GeorgePitts_ (be nice!)

Odds via Sky Bet and correct at time of publication on 19/01/19

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