Preview: Manchester United vs Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

While neither Manchester United nor Liverpool are vying for Premier League glory this season, Sunday's Old Trafford main event is arguably still the biggest game in English football.

The stakes are raised even higher than normal for gameweek 35 too, as the hosts will be assured of a Champions League spot with all three points, as will the visitors if other results go their way.

Match preview

Winning just one of their four Premier League fixtures from March 4 to April 13 was a minor bump in the road rather than the start of a steady decline for Man United under Michael Carrick, whose side are now one win away from returning to the European elite.

After taking just five points from 12 during that aforementioned run, the Red Devils have responded with back-to-back one-goal triumphs, edging out Chelsea 1-0 before a 2-1 win over Brentford courtesy of Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko's efforts on Monday night.

Eleven points clear of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion with four games remaining, Man United will qualify for the Champions League if they win on Sunday; a draw would also be enough if Brighton do not beat Newcastle United, and even a loss would suffice if the Seagulls fail to win and Bournemouth slip up against Crystal Palace.

Whether UCL football is indeed secured this weekend, it is a case of when rather than if Carrick's men rubber-stamp a top-five finish in the Premier League table - a notable achievement for the interim coach to have on his CV ahead of this summer's managerial auditions.

Furthermore, the hosts' 29 points since Carrick took charge is the most of any Premier League team in that period, and with a total of 36 at the Theatre of Dreams throughout 2025-26, Man United have already posted 12 more home points than they did in the entirety of last term.

Spearheaded by PFA Player of the Year candidate Bruno Fernandes, Man United are also on an exceptional 23-game scoring sequence across all competitions, while finding the back of the net twice in six of their last seven at home.

A win for Man United and nothing else matters for their top-five chances, but the permutations are slightly more complicated for their bitter rivals, who start the gameweek three points adrift of their hosts in the top-flight rankings.

In order to make sure of their Champions League ticket with three games to spare, Liverpool must win and hope that Brighton and Bournemouth drop points; a draw would not cut it, as Brighton would at worst be nine points behind with three games left to play.

Speaking of threes, however, the reigning champions are revelling in a three-match winning sequence in the top flight, overcoming Crystal Palace 3-1 last weekend on a day where the result was overshadowed by a mass protest against the owners over ticket price rises.

A more welcome kind of rise was the Reds rising to fourth in the Premier League table, but Sunday's visitors have only won one of their last 12 top-flight games against teams starting the day in the top three, drawing seven of them.

Liverpool were also bested 2-1 by Man United at Anfield in October, but after last season's 3-0 Old Trafford trouncing, Slot could become the first-ever Reds head coach to win both of his first two away league games against the Red Devils - Premier League or First Division.

Manchester United Premier League form:

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool form (all competitions):

Team News

Man United are likely to have all of their attacking options at their disposal this week, as Matheus Cunha was pictured in training on Thursday after missing the Brentford victory with a minor hip injury.

There is also optimism that Luke Shaw will be fine to feature, despite coming off injured last time out, while defensive duo Matthijs de Ligt (back) and Lisandro Martinez (suspended) are both missing.

Courtesy of his helper for Sesko on Monday, Fernandes is now just one Premier League assist away from equalling Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne's single-season record of 20, set in 2002-03 and 2019-20 respectively.

However, Man United's biggest injury boost for Sunday's game is actually on Liverpool's side, as Mohamed Salah has been denied one last hurrah against the Red Devils due to the hamstring injury he sustained last weekend.

Liverpool have affirmed that the 33-year-old is expected back before the end of the season - meaning that he has most likely not played his final game for the club just yet - but he will not have the chance to add to his staggering 16 goals and eight assists against Man United.

Salah joins Jayden Danns (hamstring), Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee), Giovanni Leoni (knee), Wataru Endo (ankle) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (knee), while Alisson Becker (unspecified) is yet to train and is therefore a major doubt.

Slot also revealed in his pre-game press conference that Milos Kerkez is suffering from a niggle, but Andrew Robertson - scorer of last weekend's second goal - should feature from the off in Man Utd vs. Liverpool for the last time regardless.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Woodman; Jones, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

We say: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool

Neither Man United nor Liverpool have been blowing opponents to smithereens during their recent positive stretches, and an encounter as tight at the table should ensue at Old Trafford.

A Liverpool victory is surely out of the question given their injury concerns, but the Reds can still deny their hosts all three points, even if just one might be enough for Man United to regain their Champions League status.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.