Manchester United vs Liverpool: Return of the 'nutmeg' king

Luis Suarez’s return is the main talking point

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Time: 2315 hrs IST, 1945 hrs BST

Every United-Liverpool match goes down in history as something special. The most anticipated fixture in English football is set for yet another appearance at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. But this time around, there is another reason which makes it even more special. After an inhuman biting incident, Luis Suarez is set to return to club football after serving a 10-match ban. As much as you may not like him, you just cannot help being excited by his return.

Those impossible dribbles, classy nutmegs out of nowhere, stunning free-kicks and a burning desire to win is what makes him stand out from the rest of the crowd. Liverpool have been top-notch this season but this man is the one who can take them the extra mile towards victory.

Three weeks ago, Liverpool pulled off a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Anfield after a Daniel Sturridge goal. By no means was it an extraordinary performance, but was enough to snatch three points and climb atop the table. David Moyes’s first match against Liverpool was no contrast to the disastrous record he had in the Mersyside Derby while at Everton.

However, now he gets a chance at redemption against Liverpool in the upcoming Capital One Cup third round tie. After an excellent run in the first three games of the Premier League season, Liverpool lost this week against Southampton. On the other hand, Manchester United will play this match on the back of a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

On most occasions, one would expect the manager to not play the full first team in the League Cup but that may not be the case this time around. Since it is a derby and a tough encounter, you can assume that it is highly probable that the managers would put up a full-fledged starting XI.

Teams

“He just can’t wait to get playing again,” said Rodgers. ‘There’s a real determination in him now. Obviously there was a lot going on over the course of the summer, but he’s trained hard and his entrance back into the squad now is perfect timing really.”

This is what Rodgers had to say about the return of Suarez after an absence of 155 days. Rodgers is likely to stick with his usual 4-3-3 formation with an attacking trio of Sturridge, Suarez and Aspas. Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger can be expected to slot in at the centre of the defence with Wisdom and Jose Enrique on the flanks. In front of them, he would go with the usual pairing of Gerrard and Lucas with Henderson playing in an advanced midfield role. Simon Mignolet is expected to be the man between the sticks.

Coutinho and Johnson’s absence due to injury shouldn’t really affect them as they still have an excellent squad.

You can expect Steven Gerrard to be the hub of the midfield dictating the play. Jordan Henderson would be the link between midfield and attack and his play will have a big telling on the game. Liverpool’s game is built on their fluidity of passing and they would expect to play the game built on a smooth transition from defence to attack.