Paul Merson is backing Manchester United to claim a 2-1 victory over arch rivals Liverpool FC in their Premier League clash at Anfield on Sunday.

The Red Devils head into the game fresh from having claimed their first major trophy since 2017 thanks to their victory over Newcastle United in last weekend’s League Cup final.

Manchester United have been showing promising signs of progress under Erik ten Hag this season and the Red Devils have won three of their last four games in the Premier League – and they start the weekend third in the table.

Liverpool FC, meanwhile, have struggled to find consistent form this term but have also won three of their last four in the top flight to leave them sixth in the table.

A win for the Merseyside outfit on Sunday would move them to within seven points of Ten Hag’s side, but former Arsenal midfielder Merson feels that Manchester United are poised to come out on top.

Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “This is how quickly football changes. You’d be surprised if Manchester United got beaten here.

“How many times have we been able to say that about this game in the last few years? The way Manchester United are playing, they will take the game to Liverpool.

“They are excellent on the counter and their players seem to make the right decisions whenever they break. United will want Liverpool to have a go at them so that they can hit them on the counter. Jurgen Klopp’s side could play right into United’s hands on Sunday.

“Marcus Rashford will be looking to put Trent Alexander-Arnold under pressure much like Vinicius Junior did in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago. If United beat Liverpool, their confidence will be high and they will keep themselves in the title race for now.

“A win would be massive for Liverpool as they will get closer to the top four with that. A couple of successive wins could be huge for them.

“Erik ten Hag seems to know exactly how to handle his players. Tactically, he is very good. In the Carabao Cup final, his substitutions were spot on and he made the right decisions. He killed the game at the right time by making some really good defensive substitutions.

“It just shows you that a club just needs a good manager to maximize their potential.”

Meanwhile, former Chelsea FC star Chris Sutton is also tipping Manchester United to claim a 2-1 away victory on Sunday afternoon.

Writing in his own column for BBC Sport, Sutton said: “Manchester United were finding it tough against West Ham in the FA Cup on Wednesday but they changed the game when they brought on Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, and went up through the gears.

“Liverpool don’t seem able to do that at the moment and the turnaround – for different reasons, good and bad – for both teams since the start of season has been unbelievable really.

“Jurgen Klopp’s side have kept a couple of clean sheets in a row now, against Crystal Palace and Wolves, which was important for them but it’s really not that big a deal because neither of those teams offer much in attack, do they?

“Liverpool did the same last month when they beat Everton and 10-man Newcastle without conceding, but then they got hammered at home by Real Madrid.

“Put it this way, I don’t think it means Liverpool will keep Rashford out on Sunday. They get dominated in midfield and are vulnerable at the back, and United will take advantage of that.”

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