Saturday 12 September 2015 09:45, UK
In his latest column, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher previews one of the biggest games in English football as Manchester United and Liverpool prepare to lock horns on Saturday Night Football.
England's two most successful clubs renew their bitter rivalry at Old Trafford on Saturday, with both sides looking to bounce back from disappointing defeats before the international break.
Louis van Gaal has some big decisions to make ahead of kick-off. Will he include new signing Anthony Martial, and how will United get the best out of England's record-breaking goalscorer Wayne Rooney?
The former Liverpool and England defender has his say on the biggest issues ahead of the game...
Goals have been hard to come by for both Manchester United and Liverpool. Why do you think that is?
CARRA SAYS: It looks like Louis van Gaal has sorted the back four out at United. They look very organised this season and were in the last few months of last season as well. One of the reasons he was brought in to United was because of his style of football, coming from the Ajax and Barcelona school playing with wingers and playing attacking football the Manchester United way. But that hasn't been the case, really, since he has come. They look short at centre-forward now, with Wayne Rooney their only recognised striker.
What about Liverpool?
CARRA SAYS: With Liverpool, it's chalk and cheese compared to what it was a few years ago in terms of the amount of goals scored when Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling were there, but two of those players have moved on now. Christian Benteke is the big-money signing that has been brought in to get those goals and, after the first four games, they haven't given him the service. I wouldn't question Benteke, I think he has done quite well in possession and he's got off the mark with one goal, but at this moment the creativity hasn't been coming from Liverpool and they certainly haven't given him enough service.
What did you make of Manchester United's signing of Anthony Martial? How do you think he will cope if he is thrown in for his debut against Liverpool?
CARRA SAYS: It was a signing out of the blue really. United missed out on Pedro and Martial is not a household name in this country; he was an up-and-coming player in France. He played against Arsenal last season in the Champions League but it's certainly not a name that resonates in the Premier League, so it was a big shock. The price that was paid obviously raised eyebrows but, like with any transfer fee, if any player succeeds and does well he is worth it.
Eyebrows were raised when Raheem Sterling left Liverpool for £49m, but he has started the season well, City look fantastic and, at this moment, it looks like a good buy. The add-ons could take the deal to £50m-£60m, which is a lot of money for a young player. For the price to be that high, it shows that there must be something there, that Manchester United, Louis van Gaal and Ed Woodward think it is worth paying. It is certainly a gamble, but he must have great potential.
Following his record-breaking exploits with England, how important could Wayne Rooney be to Manchester United in the coming years?
CARRA SAYS: Wayne has been a massive figure for them for years. His form has been questioned a lot this season but, while he hasn't been his best this season, I look at the role he's been asked to play. The structure of the United team, he's asked to occupy two central defenders and not really move too much and that is not the Wayne Rooney I have seen over the last few years. He is someone who plays with energy and is involved and intense in a game and we are not seeing that this season. You have to wonder if the role he is being asked to play is inhibiting him at the moment.
What are your views on Lucas Leiva's return to the Liverpool first team?
CARRA SAYS: Lucas is a player you bring in to do certain jobs. He is not someone who is there for you every single week of the season but you need him at times. He wasn't involved for the first couple of fixtures but, when Jordan Henderson was out of the Arsenal game, he came in and produced a great performance. Towards the end of last season, when Liverpool were on a great run, Lucas was heavily involved in that again.
He has found it difficult at times under Brendan Rodgers to be a mainstay in the team like he was under Kenny Dalglish and towards the end under Rafa Benitez. But when he's been needed he's been used and he's been very effective because Rodgers doesn't have many options in the role of a defence-minded midfield player. He is the only option.
Liverpool hadn't conceded all season until their 3-0 defeat at home to West Ham. What do you think happened?
CARRA SAYS: There are two new full-backs in there but Liverpool have looked solid in the first three games and sometimes you can have a game like the West Ham game where everything seems to go wrong. There is not a lot the manager can do about individual mistakes, like Dejan Lovren's for the second goal. Then the team got done on the counter at counter for the third goal when they were chasing the game.
The worry for Liverpool is that conceding three goals like that takes you back more to last season rather than looking at this season. At times last season, and the year before, Liverpool conceded too many goals and that's the worry. Are we going to see the Liverpool of the first three games this season or are we going back to the bad days of last season where they conceded lots of goals?
At this stage of the season, considering the clubs have similar ambitions for the season, is this a game neither manager can afford to lose?
CARRA SAYS: It's early days but on the back of defeats in the last games, and with questions being asked about this season and last season, I think this is a very important game for the clubs, as it always is when these two meet. But I think the game is important for the managers as well, they could both do without a poor defeat really. To lose two on the bounce just adds an added bit of pressure.
Both sides will be looking to get a top-four place this season. For Liverpool that is the target. Manchester United will be looking to challenge more for the title. Whether they can remains to be seen given the extra volume of games they will have with Champions League involvement. So they could both be rivals for these games going for those positions so the head-to-head games could make a big difference towards the end of the season.
What is it like playing at Old Trafford if you're a Liverpool player?
CARRA SAYS: It depends how you get on! If you win, it's one of the best places you can win. It's one of the giant arenas in world football and it's a very difficult place to go and a get a result. Now and again over the years we got a few results there but it wasn't somewhere you were expected to go and win every year because it was such a difficult place and they had such a good side.
I don't know if that is the case at the moment, this is a Manchester United side that is third or fourth best in the league at the moment. They are not top dogs like they were most of the time I was playing. It should be a lot easier for this Liverpool side to get a result rather than when I was going there.
Neither United nor Liverpool will have a local lad playing for them. How does that make you feel?
CARRA SAYS: Both clubs have been brought up on bringing young players through, that's the tradition of both clubs. Both sets of supporters like to see that but what they also like to see is the team winning. The most important thing is to win, not to have local players in. The perfect match is to do that and have local players who know what the club is about. But the main thing would be to get results and win trophies for both clubs.
You don't want this to go on forever with no local players in their side but I'm sure it will change because I don't think there are many clubs that can compete with United and Liverpool for bringing local lads through and achieving success with it, so long may that continue.
Watch Manchester United v Liverpool live on Saturday Night Football, 5pm, Sky Sports 1 HD.
