The battle of the lead between Manchester United and Liverpool ... know when

Manchester United is going through a serious test in its quest to regain the title absent from its coffers for eight years, specifically the 2012-2013 season, led by legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson, when he visits his traditional rivals Liverpool, the champion of last season, Sunday (20:30 UAE time) at a summit The 19th stage of the English Premier League in football.

Manchester United broke the lead with Liverpool last Tuesday and moved away from it by three points when it beat Burnley 1-0 in a postponed first-stage match, achieving its ninth victory in its last 11 matches in which it had not tasted a loss after a disastrous start, its worst in 48 years. He lost three times all at home in his first six matches, in which he achieved only two wins, one of which was humiliating against Tottenham 1-6, accompanied by the shocking exit from the group stage of the Champions League competition.

But his Norwegian coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was close to dismissal after the disappointing results, the last of which was his fall to Arsenal 0-1 on the first of last November, succeeded in returning the team to the path of success and entering the race for the title.

It is the first time that Manchester United have found themselves at the top of the league after 17 stages since winning the 2012-2013 title.

The victory over Liverpool for the first time since 2018, specifically the tenth of March, at Old Trafford, when he beat him with two goals by Marcus Rashford, against a friendly fire goal scored by Ivorian defender Eric Baye, by mistake, is the best way to prove that the strong return of the Red Devils.

Manchester United failed to win against Liverpool in the last five matches between them, where they lost three times, the last of which was almost a year ago at Anfield, on January 19, with two goals by Dutchman Virgil Van Dyck, the most prominent absent from the "Reds" squad this season due to injury, and the Egyptian Mohamed Salah.

At the time, coach Solskjaer's men entered the summit in front of the German coach Jürgen Klopp's men, while they were 30 points behind them, while they fight it tomorrow with a difference of three points and with a preference outside the rules being the only team that has not suffered a loss so far in front of his guests in eight trips (7 wins and one draw) ).

United go to Anfield, aware that they have a golden opportunity to make an invaluable progress and move away with six points over Liverpool, who have suffered badly in their last three matches and in which they have not tasted an excessive taste of victory with seven points that allowed their rivals to clear him from the top.

"They are the league champions and we look forward to facing them, which will be a great test of our abilities against a good team," Solskjaer said.

"It is good to go to Anfield and we are in the lead. We deserve this position, but we will keep in mind during this visit that we will play against the best team in the country, the title holder," he added.

But United's victory over its rivals for the first time at Anfield 5 years ago, specifically on January 17, 2016, with the goal of Wayne Rooney, will not be easy to reach in front of difficult Liverpool at home.

Liverpool hopes to stop the uprising of its traditional rivals and restore the track of victories and lead to keep its chances of defending the title, which it won last year for the first time in 30 years.

Liverpool suffered from injuries a lot this season, especially in the defense line, where Van Dyck and Joe Gomez are absent until the end of the season in addition to Joel Matip, who is in doubt about his participation on Sunday, as Klopp was forced to include the captain Jordan Henderson in the defense pole position during the confrontation with Southampton, and the player Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has been playing in the same position since Van Dyck was injured.

Portuguese newcomer Diogo Jota will also be absent for the same reason, while Brazilian Thiago Alcantara has recently returned to play after a long absence due to injury.

It is reported that the two teams will meet next Sunday at Old Trafford in the fourth round of the FA Cup competition.

Manchester City lurks

Manchester City, the third champion of the two seasons before last, is waiting for its neighbor United and Liverpool to confirm its revival when it also hosts Crystal Palace on Sunday, seeking its fifth successive victory.

City is one point behind Liverpool and four points behind United with a postponed match, and he hopes to draw them to pounce on the second place and reduce the difference to one point for his neighbor, especially as he plays relatively easy matches in the next stages as he faces Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United and Burnley.

In the recent period, City has suffered from the absence of a number of its players due to infection with the emerging corona virus.

His Spanish coach, Josep Guardiola, knew how to manage his team despite the absences and crises he faced, as the team did not lose in its last 14 matches in various competitions, but City suffers from wasting the many opportunities created by its attackers and the lack of scoring, as its players only scored 25 goals against 37 for Liverpool and 34 For United, but they are the lowest-scorer among the top nine teams in the league.

But City has the strongest defense in the league, conceding only 13 goals so far, which has improved a lot since Robin Dias joined his ranks and John Stones regained his level.

Chelsea to regain his balance

Chelsea are seeking to regain their balance when they visit Fulham on Saturday in Derby, West London, and restore the tone of victories after suffering four defeats in the last six games that brought them down from the top last December to ninth place, ten points behind United.

After Chelsea confirmed his ambition to win the title when he spent 200 million pounds (273 million dollars) to strengthen their ranks during the summer transfer period, the results of the London team fell terribly and the fate of their coach Frank Lampard was at stake.

The new German duo, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, suffers from a lack of adaptation to English football, while the problem of Moroccan Hakim Ziyech is reduced to physical fitness.

There have been talks recently about the possibility of hiring his former Israeli coach, Avram Grant, which puts Lampard under great pressure to restore balance to the team.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news