Ex Manchester United defender Gary Neville has urged United’s players to ‘show courage’ when then visit Liverpool in order to avoid a repeat of last season’s disgraceful 7-0 defeat.
Following a disastrous 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth, United have a hefty week ahead of them as they welcome Bayern Munich in a must-win Champions League clash on Tuesday, before visiting Anfield on Sunday to take on their arch rivals.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League and have lost just two of their 23 games across all competitions this season, and will be heavy favourites to beat the Red Devils who have lost 11 of their 23 fixtures.
Because of how porous at the back United have been at times this season, Neville has expressed fears the Reds could win by a huge scoreline – just as they did in their last meeting in March.
“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,’ the United legend said on 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.
“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.
“But before that they’ve got the small task of Bayern Munich in the Champions League so it’s a tough week for them, but it shouldn’t be a tough week.
“These should be the weeks that a Manchester United team should dream of: Bayern Munich and Liverpool away, but it’s a week now that becomes fearful and makes you anxious and that’s just the state of the club in general.”
United have won just two of their last 11 matches against Liverpool, with their last victory at Anfield coming way back in January 2016 when a late Wayne Rooney goal gave Louis van Gaal’s side a 1-0 win.
