This is one of the biggest fixtures remaining in the Premier League calendar this season, especially with both sides still fighting towards the top of the table. Casemiro looks set for a big role in midfield playing alongside Kobbie Mainoo, and the Brazilian will have to shoulder a large defensive burden. Casemiro was booked after committing two infringements in the reverse fixture, despite only lasting 58 minutes before picking up an injury. 

Man United racked up 14 infringements in that game, highlighting their aggressive approach in the rivalry, and that should persist here. Casemiro is averaging 1.67 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, which is one of the highest figures in the Man United squad, and he has landed this selection in seven of his last 12 starts at Old Trafford. That includes two fouls against Man City in the Manchester derby at home.

Benjamin Sesko scored his 10th goal of the season in the Premier League last time out as Manchester United came away 2-1 winners over Brentford. I’ve been a long term admirer of the forward, which hasn’t always been a popular position, and think he’ll continue to improve the more he plays with the quality of players like Fernandes.

Sesko has taken 58 shots across his 10 starts in the Premier League this season (3.28 per 90), impressively seeing 32 of these efforts find the target (1.81 per 90), which works out to a shot accuracy of 55%. For comparison, Rasmus Hojlund averaged 0.58 shots on target per 90 and a shot accuracy of 41% last season - so Sesko is a marked improvement in the frontline.

Sesko has found the target in three of his last five Premier League appearances, and notably plays for a Manchester United side who have had more shots on target than any other side in the Premier League this season (5.70 per game).

I’m always quite surprised at how this selection is priced, it’s almost always around the 1.29-1.4 mark which I think is pretty generous for a player of Gravenberch’s quality in central areas and his ability to get out of tight spaces. 

Gravenberch hasn’t really done much wrong this season in my view, he’s been let down a bit by the players around him - particularly Mac Allister - and has also had to adapt to Florian Wirtz’s presence in midfield which has just unsettled the balance of the Liverpool midfield three slightly. 

Gravenberch was fouled once when these sides met earlier in the campaign, he was replaced by Curtis Jones after 62 minutes who also won a foul showing how Super Sub could see us over the line even if Gravenberch doesn’t quite manage to win a foul here. 

Gravenberch is averaging 1.25 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League this campaign, and has been fouled in three of his last five Premier League matches, winning 2+ fouls in two of these games.

I can’t see this being too dull, Manchester United have been one of the more entertaining sides to follow in the Premier League this season (the bar is very low) but have become a bit more structured under Michael Carrick. 

United came away 2-1 winners when these sides met earlier on in the campaign, with that game seeing 31 match shots and a combined xG of 4.09. The home side have seen 3+ goals in four of their last five matches across all competitions, while Liverpool have seen 3+ goals in each of their last two games - victories over Everton and Crystal Palace.

It’s an important game in the context of the race for Champions League football as well, Liverpool’s recent wins have moved them to within just three points of Manchester United. Arne Slot’s side have seen 51 goals across their 17 away matches in the Premier League this season (3.0 per game).

I think it was in the meeting between these sides earlier in the season that people started to become aware of how talented Senne Lammens is. He made five saves and walked away with an xG prevented tally of 1.33 when United won 2-1 at Anfield earlier in the campaign, which is a great snapshot of his overall quality and calming presence in the United backline.

Lammens was busy against Brentford at home last time out, making five saves as United came away 2-1 winners over the Bees. He’s been forced into making 3+ saves in each of his last four Premier League appearances, showing how while United are quite complete in the final third - they are still quite lacking at the back and rely on Lammens to keep them in games, as the Brentford and Liverpool victories show us.

Across the season as a whole, Lammens has been forced into making 68 saves across his 28 starts in the Premier League (2.43 per 90). We’d be looking for a rise in these numbers but Liverpool can provide that having tested Pickford on three occasions in their most recent away game as they ran out 2-1 winners over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Bruno Fernandes has been incredible this season, I personally think he deserves the POTY award but that’s a discussion for another day. The headline number with Fernandes at the moment is his assist record, which is freakish, but what’s more striking to me are his underlying chance creation numbers - which are so far ahead of any other player in the league.

He’s created 110 chances in the Premier League this season (3.3 per game), and is only one assist away from matching the record for the total number of assists in a single season - which has been held at 20 by Thierry Henry for over 20 years. He’s also averaging 2.7 key passes per 90, and has registered five ‘second’ assists (the pass before the assist).

It’s got to the point where Fernandes is now actively looking to set up goals rather than take shots, which should be noted for betting angles, as we saw when he set up Sesko against Brentford last time out. Fernandes registered an assist when these sides met earlier in the campaign.

I’ve been a bit disappointed with Alexis Mac Allister this season after the stellar campaign he enjoyed last year as a fixture in the midfield trio of Szoboszlai, Gravenberch and Mac Allister which helped Liverpool secure their second ever Premier League title. He’s still just as tenacious as he was last season, but looks a bit fatigued at times. 

Mac Allister has collected five yellow cards across his 27 starts in the Premier League this season. He’s picked up two yellow cards in his last five appearances across all competitions, and is a player that will really engage in a battle with Casemiro here - who has improved significantly over the last few months, and particularly under Michael Carrick next to Kobbie Mainoo.

Mainoo and Casemiro combine to win 2.34 fouls per 90 in the Premier League, so they can offer a threat to Mac Allister who is likely to commit a few fouls in this contest and test the patience of Darren England, who is averaging 4.29 cards per game in the Premier League this season across 21 appointments.

I was quite surprised to see that Harry Maguire has only scored one goal in the Premier League this season, but that goal did come against Liverpool at Anfield to secure United’s first win at the famous stadium in over 10 years. 

Maguire is averaging 0.77 shots per 90 in the Premier League, which is a strong record for a centre back, and has Bruno Fernandes in the side - who already assisted him earlier in the season for that goal - with the Portuguese midfielder hunting down the assist record in the Premier League.

Maguire has also picked up three yellow cards across his 19 starts in the Premier League this season, and the emotion of this game could tempt him into overstepping the mark again. He’s picked up four cards across his last 10 starts in the Premier League, including a red card which he picked up against Bournemouth a few weeks back.