Manchester United must have the courage to play football to avoid being “eaten alive” by Liverpool at Anfield this weekend, according to Gary Neville. Red Devils fans will travel to Merseyside on Sunday, fearing a repeat of last season’s 7-0 mauling.
Liverpool are the Premier League leaders and have won all 11 home games this season, making United’s visit a daunting proposition.
Erik ten Hag’s side are sixth, 10 points behind the Reds, and haven’t won an away game against top-eight opposition since a 2-1 triumph at West Ham United in September 2021.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford wasn’t an ideal warm-up for a daunting week, starting with the Champions League visit of Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
And Neville doesn’t believe United have what it takes to spring a surprise at Anfield, noting Liverpool’s professionalism will rule out any complacency before kick-off.
“If you’re a United fan, you’ve got a feeling that you’re going to get beat up and you’re going to get done in properly because of 7-0 last season and the way in which they’re playing at the moment,” he told the Gary Neville Podcast.
“It doesn’t always work out like that, and I’m sure Jurgen Klopp this week and the Liverpool players won’t be sat there thinking, ‘Oh, here we go, this is easy pickings’. That’s not how it goes in football.
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“The thing that Manchester United have to fear most is that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are a professional bunch, and they’ve done well over a seven-year period. My concern with this Manchester United team is that they haven’t got it in them to surprise us.
“They haven’t got the leadership, they haven’t got 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 or whether you’re a team that’s sixth in the league, it can be a bear pit.
“It can swallow you up, and 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, and that’s what they’ve got to prepare for this week: Courage to play.”
