Manchester United Team News
Midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte are set to return for Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday. Both players were absent during Monday’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle United due to one-match suspensions.
Fernandes avoided a longer ban despite receiving his third red card of the season against Wolves. This was because his dismissal in the match against Tottenham was rescinded, and another sending-off occurred in a Europa League fixture against FC Porto. Meanwhile, Ugarte served his suspension after accumulating five Premier League yellow cards.
However, United boss Ruben Amorim hinted that Marcus Rashford might miss the trip to Merseyside due to illness. Rashford, who was an unused substitute against Newcastle, is still unwell and has not been participating in training sessions.
“It’s the same situation as before, but now he’s sick,” Amorim said during his pre-match press conference. “At the moment, I think he’ll be unavailable this week.”
United are also contending with injuries to Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount, while Jonny Evans missed the Newcastle game, with academy player Godwill Kukonki stepping into the squad as a substitute.
Liverpool Team News
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that Trent Alexander-Arnold will feature on Sunday, despite speculation linking the full-back with a move to Real Madrid.
Defender Joe Gomez has been ruled out for several weeks due to injury, but there is positive news regarding Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley, who have returned to training. Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is also available after serving a one-match ban during Liverpool’s emphatic 5-0 win over West Ham United.
“Joe Gomez won’t be available for a few weeks,” Slot stated. “But Ibou [Konaté] and Conor [Bradley] are back in training, which is a step forward. They’ve worked hard during recovery, and now we need to see how they handle team sessions.
“We trained yesterday, and so far, everyone except Joe seems fit. Hopefully, the rest of the squad remains healthy for the game.”
With both sides dealing with fitness concerns, Sunday’s clash promises to be a high-stakes encounter at Anfield.
More details https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/team-news-for-liverpool-v-man-utd-on-5-jan-2025