3. Simon Mignolet Error
Not a single game goes by without Simon Mignolet giving us a heart attack with his mistakes in between the sticks and it is only obvious that the trend is expected to continue. He let in a goal at the near post and a soft goal from a corner, in the process undoing the brilliance the side’s forwards had shown. He will be up against the rapidly growing Martial, a seemingly rejuvenated Wayne Rooney and Jesse Lingard all of whom have scored over the recent weeks.
Van Gaal would be aware of Mignolet’s deficiencies in the air and will be keen to utilize the skill at his hand in Ashley Young and Juan Mata, who can whip in dangerous balls from the wings. It’s a matter of time before Mignolet loses his spot as the number 1 keeper of this side, simply because he lacks the ability to lead the defence and is even poorer with his distribution.
Over the course of the last 2 to 3 years, the rivalry seems to have gotten better only on the social media platforms, with neither of the teams achieving anything meaningful on the pitch. With Liverpool plagued by numerous injuries and United struggling to find the rhythm, it could be a dull game on the pitch.