Gary Neville has voiced his dread over Manchester United’s upcoming visit to the ‘bear pit’ that is Anfield to take on Liverpool.
The two eternal rivals go head-to-head on Merseyside next Sunday off the back of wildly contrasting results in their most recent Premier League games.
While Jurgen Klopp’s side went top of the table after a comeback win away to Crystal Palace, Erik ten Hag’s men were thrashed 3-0 at home by Bournemouth, leaving them 10 points adrift of the league leaders.
Liverpool famously thrashed United 7-0 the last time they met at Anfield nine months ago, and Neville seems fearful of his former club being heavily beaten at the venue once again next weekend.
Speaking on his eponymous podcast for Sky Sports, he said: “If you sit here now and you’re a United fan, you’ve got a feeling that you’re gonna get beat up and you’re gonna get done in properly. It was 7-0 last year and the way they’re playing at the moment…
“This Manchester United team, my concern is that they haven’t got it in them to surprise us. They haven’t got the leadership or the quality to be able to go to Anfield, and that is a bear pit of a place for a United player.
“I don’t care what team you are. I don’t care how good you are, whether you’re a championship-winning team with Man United or whether you’re a team who’s basically sixth, seventh, eighth in the league, it can be a bear pit and it can swallow you up.
“If those players don’t stand up and stick that chest out next week, and they don’t take the ball and show courage, it will eat you alive.”
If Neville’s comments represent the thoughts of much of United’s fan base, Liverpool supporters will be rubbing their hands in excitement ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
The current Premier League table shows the gulf in quality between the two teams, while the Reds have won every game they’ve played at Anfield so far this season and shown an indomitable spirit which has enabled them to earn 18 points from losing positions already in the current campaign.
It’ll require a better performance than the one which saw us just about get over the line against Palace two days ago, but if Klopp’s side play to their best and display the same ruthlessness they showed in this fixture last term, expect them to give their fans some early Christmas cheer.
You can view Neville’s comments below (from 10:45), via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube:
Don’t get complacent. To think it’s in the bag is crazy. Fernández won’t be playing because of his 5th yellow card. That could be good news for Utd. as he’s shown he doesn’t have the bottle for an Anfield scrap.
Does it peel potatoes
It will be tough for Manchester united and it will not be easy for Liverpool.