By Gary Fulcher, Daniel Rhodes and Mihail Vladimirov.

Liverpool climbed up to 2nd following the 3-0 win away at Southampton – making it seven wins from our last nine PL games – and after a two week international break, the Reds travel to Old Trafford on Sunday where David Moyes and his band of little Red Devils lie in wait, 1.30pm kick off UK time. 11 points separate us from 6th placed Manchester United following their 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion at the weekend, while current table toppers Chelsea secured a 4-0 win over 5th placed Spurs, a result that means we sit seven points behind the leaders and six clear of Tottenham, with a game in hand on both sides.

Manchester United have had a poor season by their standards, with their Premier League crown destined for one of the sides who currently sit in the top four. They face missing out on Champions League/European Cup qualification for the first time in more than 20 years, unless they can lift the trophy in Lisbon on May 24. Utd will need to pick up 12 points from their remaining ten league games in order to avoid ending the season with their lowest points tally since 1990/91, when they ended that campaign in 6th with 59 points.

The Red Devils currently have 48 points from 28 matches and are unbeaten in their last four Premier League encounters having drawn with Fulham (2-2 at Old Trafford) and Arsenal (0-0 at the Emirates), while securing back-to-back victories over Crystal Palace (2-0 at Selhurst Park) and West Bromwich Albion (3-0 at the Hawthorns). Their record at Old Trafford is especially poor having won six, drawn three and lost four (ranked 8th) of their previous 13 matches, scoring 18 (the joint second lowest number of home goals scored by a team in the top ten) and conceding 12 (the joint 5th best home defensive record in the league).

The corresponding fixture last season ended with Man Utd securing a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from van Persie and Vidic, with Daniel Sturridge finding the back of the net for the Reds. Liverpool secured a 1-0 win over Man Utd at Anfield earlier in the season – our first win against the Red Devils in four Premier League attempts home and away – but since THAT 4-1 victory in 2008/09, we’ve suffered four consecutive defeats at Old Trafford, all by a solitary goal:

• 2009/10: Man Utd 2 – 1 Liverpool
• 2010/11: Man Utd 3 – 2 Liverpool
• 2011/12: Man Utd 2 – 1 Liverpool
• 2012/13: Man Utd 2 – 1 Liverpool

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