Liverpool vs Manchester United: Jose Mourinho will be up for it against Jurgen Klopp, says Phil Neville
A win for Liverpool will help keep the pressure on the Manchester clubs.
Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville believes that Jose Mourinho's side will be up for it against Liverpool when they meet each other at Anfield on Saturday, 14 October as the Portuguese manager does not have a good record against his German counterpart.
Klopp and Mourinho have met each other on seven occasions, with the Portuguese winning only once, in encounters involving both Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. United head to Merseyside with a seven-point advantage over their archrivals and will return to the top of the Premier League table if they avoid defeat, with leaders Manchester City not in action until later in the day.
Both teams have key players out through injury, with United not being able to field Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini, while the Reds will be without Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane, their two key players from last season.
There will be more pressure on Mohamed Salah going into the game owing to Mane's injury. The Senegal forward suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.
The Egyptian winger is in good form, though, having scored both his country's goals to help the team qualify for next summer's World Cup in Russia.
United, on the other hand, are likely to field a midfield of Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic, given the absentees.
"He won't like it at all. He prides himself on being the best and he pits himself against the best," Neville told Sky Sports' The Debate Show, as quoted by the Express. "Klopp is renowned as one of the world's best coaches.
"He won't like it that Klopp has got a better record. That's why I think he's always enjoyed going to Anfield. He did it with Chelsea and he would wind up fans by saying he "parked the bus".
"He always had a gameplay that worked at Anfield. He likes the challenge and he'll also like the challenge of not being done by Klopp this time, because Klopp's got the better of him."