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Mark Lawrenson has made an interesting scoreline prediction for the high-stakes Premier League encounter between Manchester United and Liverpool. The ex-Reds defender backed his former side to overcome their eternal rivals, by the barest of margins.
The Red Devils have had a shaky start to their 2024-25 Premier League campaign. They started off by scraping a 1-0 win over Fulham at home, but lost to a 95th-minute winner in their very next game against Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1).
Conversely, the Reds have been on song in Arne Slot's first competitive games in charge of the club. They have won both their games, against Ipswich (away, 2-0) and Brentford (home, 2-0), without conceding a single goal.
Lawrenson claimed that United's record against their rivals isn't as good of late, and backed the Merseysiders to secure the victory. In his column on Paddy Power, the 67-year-old wrote:
"Manchester United's record against Liverpool isn't as good as it once was and they've signed players to stop teams coming to Old Trafford and dominating the game. I just think with United that they don't know their best team yet which is to be expected with all the players they've signed."
"I am going to go for 2-1 to Liverpool. I'll go for Mo Salah to score, he's started really well and he likes playing at Old Trafford. Arne Slot's new but he knows the best team and they'll make chances," Lawrenson added.
Erik ten Hag's Manchester United will host Arne Slot's Liverpool in an exciting early-season Premier League encounter at Old Trafford on Sunday, September 1.
"He'll hang on till Christmas" - Mark Lawrenson believes 32-year-old Liverpool superstar will depart the club
Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes that the Reds' superstar forward Mohamed Salah is on the verge of a departure from Anfield.
The Egyptian talisman has less than 12 months remaining on his contract, with no news about a potential contract extension. He has attracted constant interest from the Saudi Pro League over the past six months as well.
In his column on Paddy Power, Lawrenson claimed that he believes the 2023-24 campaign would be 32-year-old's last season at Anfield. The Irishman wrote:
"I think this is Salah’s last year at Liverpool, they’re not going to give him another mega contract. He’ll hang on till Christmas to see but I think he’ll get a load of goals and then maybe head off to Saudi Arabia."
Salah has arguably been one of Liverpool's best players of all time, with a stunning 213 goals and 90 assists in 351 games for the club across all competitions. Although it will be hard for the Reds to replace him, they have a plethora of talent waiting in the wings.
The likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and new signing Federico Chiesa could all be potential replacements for the Egyptian in the eventuality of his departure.
